


Lanaya - All Random

by Aditu



Series: All Random Series [5]
Category: Defense of the Ancients | Dota, Dota 2
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2018-10-12 12:58:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 40,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10491432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aditu/pseuds/Aditu
Summary: Lanaya, the Templar Assassin, loves to fight in the town wars. She likes it because she has some space and quite there. But then she has the Crystal Maiden in her team, again, and this chatty and always cheery woman drives her crazy!





	1. Prolog

Dota

Lanaya - All Random

by Aditu

The town had two circles. An inner one, which was the safe zone, and an outer one. Both were surrounded by walls. In the outer circle was the heart of the town that held the town with all its buildings alive. It was guarded with two towers. Around the heart were several houses and barracks, all on higher ground than the area outside the town. The inner circle was only used by merchants and as regeneration point for the top soldiers, the heroes. The merchants sold mostly weapons and armour suited for everyone, who would fight for their home. And fighting they did.

They were caught in an eternal war with their neighbour town and had to defend themselves endlessly. So everyone, male or female, was trained to fight and then sent into battle. It was the only thing they could do, otherwise they would have nothing left. If the heart was destroyed, all buildings of the town would fall apart.

The main goal was to keep the heart of their town safe. And the second one was to attack the enemy, maybe even to destroy the heart of their adversary's town. But it was not easy. They had skilled fighters as well and it was an endless struggle, who would become victor of this war. You could not tell, who would win, because the two towns with their soldiers and heroes were equally strong. The balance of power always shifted a little. Depending on which hero was on the field and what items the heroes had been able to buy, the balance could shift with every fight. The heroes were hired from outside to support a town and its soldiers. Both towns were able to hire five heroes, whom they paid and who were resurrected inside of the safe zone with a delay, if they died in one of the fights.

At the present, both towns had still all their towers, in and around the high ground of the heart. There were three ways between the two towns and on each way were two towers of each fraction. And one more at the three entrances to the towns. If you wanted to destroy the heart you had to get the three towers and one way down and then the two in front of the heart. Five towers minimum. That was not easy to do, because they had some kind of self-defence system, which would start firing, as soon as an enemy soldier would get into range. Those shots hurt and could easily kill someone, if he or she wasn't strong enough.

Most times, two or three heroes would try to destroy a tower with some soldiers together, to divide the fire power between them all. That way everybody would get injured, but nobody would die. The problem here was, the enemy had soldiers as well, and heroes as strong. They had to kill them first, preferably not under the tower, but outside of its shooting range. Then they could destroy the building.

Well, it was not as easy as it sounded, obviously, since both towns still had all their towers.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, Assassin!"

Oh no, Lanaya, the Templar Assassin thought. Not her again…

In the last town war, she had met the Crystal Maiden. And her always cheerful behaviour had almost driven her crazy. She was chatty, polite, friendly and so unbelievably positive all the time, it was unbearable. And it seemed she was in this town war with her, again.

Lanaya almost groaned in frustration. And that was crazy as fuck, because she was normally completely indifferent, her focus solely on the task at hand. But it seemed the Maiden brought out the worst in her. She had to actually concentrate on what she wanted to do as soon as the ice woman was around. That was beyond the pale.

But she had to deal with it, because the war had started and there was no way out of it now. So she turned towards her and shot the most killing glance at her. She knew that she looked dangerous enough with her war paint and a black mask covering her mouth and nose. But it didn't faze the Crystal Maiden. It wasn't as if Lanaya hadn't tried to intimidate her into silence in the last war. It just didn't work.

The woman was tiny, and with her blond hair and blue eyes she looked as if she would be intimidated easily enough. But she always held her head high and kept smiling, no matter what. Maybe she was too stupid to realize what was going on around her but the Templar Assassin didn't think that was the case. Maybe she was a little naive, but even that seemed unlikely. Maybe she just was someone, who always saw the good in a situation, who really believed everything was positive.

She'd heard such people existed but is was so much the opposite of her own thinking that she'd never cared to meet one like that. Lanaya didn't believe in good things evolving from everything that happened. She had experienced too much death and suffering, had been betrayed by too many people in her life, had been hunted and almost killed. And there had never been anything good following those events. Never.

It was a mystery for her, how any being could be that bright all the time. Had never happened anything bad to her? Something she couldn't smile away or that didn't lead to something good? It seemed unlikely but Lanaya just couldn't explain her cheerfulness otherwise.

"Nice to have you in the team again." The Crystal Maiden smiled at her and it seemed she really was glad. And that although she had never even talked to her in the previous war. She wasn't here to make friends, in contrast to the Maiden, who talked with everyone and was friendly even to the withdrawn, the arrogant ant the hostile heroes. In other words, even to her.

But in spite of the fact it was driving her crazy, she had to admit that the atmosphere in the team was better with her around. She had a way to motivate everyone, her smile and her kindness cheering even the grumpiest of heroes up. The team worked good together around her.

It was almost like some kind of spell, and even the Templar Assassin felt the urge to smile back when the woman addressed her. Maybe that was what irritated her the most, because she never smiled. But before she could stop herself, she nodded at the Crystal Maiden. Her smile widened and Lanaya turned away, angry at herself for letting the woman wrap her around her little finger so easily. And for feeling pleased for a second that she had made her happy.

Fortunately the Maiden switched her focus to the others in the team. "Juggernaut, Beastmaster, Morphling. I wish you all good luck in this war. I'll support you, so if you need something, just call for me. I'll do everything in my might to be a good support, but if you want me to do something differently, just tell me. I'm no clairvoyant so please don't yell at me. Every carry wants things done in a different way and I'll adapt to your way if you like. But you have to tell me what you expect in advance not yell at me afterwards. I'd appreciate that. Now here is an Observer Ward for the top road, so you have better vision, and here are two Tangos for healing for the Assassin on the middle road. I'll follow the Juggernaut to the bottom road. Have fun!"

The Crystal Maiden smiled at everyone and Lanaya caught herself looking up right at the moment she turned towards her. Her blue eyes sparkled and for a second the Assassin just stared at the beautiful woman with the sunny attitude. With a wave of her hand in her direction the Maiden left the safe zone and Lanaya's gaze drifted lower to catch a glimpse of her shapely legs and her luscious bottom underneath her waving cloak.

Frowning, she turned back to the merchant. Actually she didn't need that much time to decide what to buy as first item but she had tried so hard not to look at the Crystal Maiden that she hadn't been able to do anything else. Now she bought a Bottle and two Iron Branches. She would've liked to get something to boost her damage output, but she needed something to regenerate her mana more. Because she would go onto the middle road where she had to be able to use her Refraction as often as possible. And for that skill she needed mana. The Bottle would give her the potential to regenerate it more quickly, the mana to use her skills as well as her life should she get injured. The Iron Branches were just something she could sell again later but gave her a small boost on all her attributes for little money.

With those things she headed out. The others had already left, probably waiting at the rune spots for the war to begin. Lanaya headed to one of those spots as well. There were two rune spots, which were places where magical runes appeared in a fixed time interval. Those runes were important for several reasons: first, Lanaya needed those runes to refill her Bottle. It had only three charges and when she had used all three, she had to collect a rune and put it in the Bottle. Then she would have three charges again. Second, those runes were magical. By picking one up, the hero would be enchanted with one of five spells. The spells could be discerned by the colour the rune had. Red was haste, which enabled the hero to run faster than any creature in the war temporarily. Green was regeneration, which regenerated the mana as well as the life of the hero completely within a second. Blue was double damage, which, as the name said, doubled the damage output of the hero for some time. Yellow was the bounty rune, which endowed the hero with money and experience instantly. And the last one, the purple one, was invisibility, with which a hero would go invisible for a short duration.

With the Bottle, the Templar Assassin was able to store those runes for later use.

At the beginning of the war the runes would appear for the first time. And it was common for all heroes to gather at the two spots to try to get those runes. So at those spots the first two battles would take place. They were located in the stream that divided the land in the middle between the two towns. It flowed in a straight line from the top to the bottom road, dividing the middle road between the first towers. And in that stream, between the bottom and the middle as well as the top and the middle road, where those two rune spots. That way, they were equally good accessible for both teams.

And Lanaya had to make sure to be fast enough to always get one of those runes as soon as they appeared.

She went to the rune between the middle and the bottom road. The Crystal Maiden and the Juggernaut were already there. She told herself it had only been a random decision to go to the bottom rune, but she had known the Maiden would be here.

The woman smiled as she saw her approaching. "I've got my ability to encase one enemy hero in ice ready. You want to get the rune?"

"And what about me?" the Juggernaut asked tersely.

"Oh come on. She is middle, she gets the rune. I'll help you get all the last hits on the enemy soldiers on our road." She touched his naked shoulder briefly and the man seemed to relax. He looked at the Assassin and then at the Maiden before he shrugged.

"Okay, then."

Lanaya felt a strange flare of irritation at the Crystal Maiden touching him and even more so at how the man reacted to the touch. But before she could think about why, the first enemy hero appeared on the opposite side of the stream.

It was a strange creature. His shape appeared human, but he wore a mask covering his whole face. Just like the Juggernaut in their team. The enemy hero wore black and green robes with a cloak and a high neck. He had a giant staff in his hand, which, in addition to the robe, marked him as a mage. Not one single patch of skin was visible underneath his clothes, so he could be any creature from elf to orc, as long as it had a human form. This mage would surely be the supporting hero on the bottom lane, because mages seldom were carries. They were only as good as their spells and items normally didn't improve spells, only physical attributes.

Then the second enemy hero appeared and the Crystal Maiden placed an Observer Ward near the rune spot, to give them vision over the place. The war would officially begin in a few seconds and Lanaya stepped into the stream, going for the place where the rune would appear in a few seconds. The enemy hero, some kind of beetle with four legs, two arms, long feelers, a longish body and chewing mouth parts, advanced. He looked relatively fragile, but Lanaya didn't know what abilities he had and since he seemed to be the carry, he would definitely get strong during the war.

He began to shoot at her, so the Assassin activated Refraction to block the damage. Just as he was near enough for her to attack, he suddenly vanished. And then, a second later, when the rune appeared, he snatched it away under her nose. If she were someone to curse, she would do so now. The mage hadn't even done anything and they had still lost the rune.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry!" The Crystal Maiden said. She hadn't been near enough to use her skill to encase the beetle in ice. "If he's against you on the middle road I'll send you some Sentry Wards, so you can detect him when he's invisible. I wish you good luck."

The Templar Assassin could hear that she was smiling when she said the last, so she didn't look in her direction, but just turned away and headed to the middle road. It was annoying that the beetle had gotten the rune, but it wasn't really a problem.

On the middle road, she waited for the first wave of soldiers to arrive from town. They would always come in waves, at the same time as the soldiers from the enemy town. They were absolutely predictable like that. Lanaya liked those fixed rules in the town wars. The appearance of the soldiers, the way they fought, the runes, even the beasts that lived in the two larger patches of forest appeared in timed intervals. She could always count on those things.

The stream divided the road in front of her and she kept to her side of the land. She couldn't see what was going on on the enemy side, but the enemy hero who would be fighting against her on the road had to be there already.

The soldiers appeared and she followed them though she would always try to remain on this side of the water. The enemy soldiers appeared as well and they met exactly in the middle of the stream and immediately started their fight. And then she saw the enemy hero. It wasn't the beetle. It was a creature, the upper half man the lower half deer. Or at least something very similar to a deer. He was very colourful, the most part of his body blue, his face and arms turquoise and something like natural armour that sprouted from his shoulders and back was pink. An intricate design covered almost his whole body and was softly glowing in a bright blue. He had horns on his head, a flat nose and a pointed beard.

She had seen him before and knew that he was no real carry but he did much damage at the beginning of a war, though he needed mana even more badly then the Assassin did.

Her advantage over him was her Refraction. She only had to anticipate when he would use his abilities before activating it, so he wouldn't be able to hit her while she was vulnerable. And he was relatively weak when he couldn't use those abilities, meaning he had little armour and his normal attacks weren't that dangerous either. If she timed her attacks and the use of her Refraction properly, she could easily win the battle on this road.

And so it started. Lanaya concentrated on getting the last hits on the enemy soldiers, because that way she would get extra money as some kind of reward for the kill. Additionally she kept an eye on the deer, to be able to see when he wanted to use one of his abilities. But the first minutes were relatively uneventful. She didn't relax, though, because it meant nothing. Maybe he was just waiting for the right moment to start an attack.

When she knew the runes had to appear again soon she backed away a little and then turned in the direction of the bottom road, following the stream.

When she came back, the deer man was gone. He was probably going for the other rune. Since she didn't know which rune he would get she remained extra watchful. But he returned without trying to attack her. He was all in all uncommonly passive. So Lanaya decided to act a little more aggressive. With a full bottle she had enough mana to activate Refraction as often as possible and so she went on the offensive. She attacked the deer directly or, if he was too far behind the soldiers, she positioned herself in a way where her Psy Blades, her form of fighting, sliced through the soldier she attacked and hit the one behind as well, in that case the enemy hero. She could get much damage onto the man that way without venturing too far forward.

The Assassin used Psionic Energy for all her skills as well as for her normal attacks. She had learned how to use this form of energy for her purposes a long time ago and had gotten better over the years. Now she was able to use it to shield herself, to make herself invisible, to create blades that sliced through an opponent and injured not only one but several creatures as long as they stood behind each other. And she could form Psionic Traps on the ground, which slowed enemies when it was sprung.

The Refraction vanished and the deer wanted to use that moment to counterattack. No problem, because Lanaya could make herself invisible. She crouched. As long as she kept absolutely still, she couldn't be seen. The lightning, which had been aimed at her, only hit the soldiers around her and the man seemed confused for a moment.

Lanaya only hoped he wouldn't buy a Sentry Ward, because after placing one he would be able to see her even when she was invisible. But until now he didn't have one. She remained where she was, waiting for her Refraction as well as her invisibility to be ready again. Then she would repeat her actions from before. She would do that until she didn't have any more mana. The first hit after she left her invisibility would deal extra damage, so in addition to her abilities being ready again, she waited for the deer man to be near enough for her to strike him.

It took some time, but the Templar Assassin was very patient. She could wait like that for hours, if needed. She had always been the more unemotional type and throughout her training she had become ever calm and imperturbable. With a task at hand she concentrated her whole being on that task, never wavering from her focus. It was one of her greatest strengths but also one of her greatest weaknesses. She just didn't know when it was wiser to back down.

Therefore she had started to participate in the town wars. She was doing that for some time now and she really liked it. Because here, she always had a goal. She knew what she had to do and if she didn't back away from a fight soon enough, it wouldn't kill her. At least not forever. She would be resurrected every time in the safe zone and though it hurt like hell, it was tolerable. It was a simple mission that nonetheless demanded all her concentration. And it almost always was a challenge. Depending on the heroes participating in the war she had to adapt her behaviour as well as her choice of items. She always shifted through the possibilities in her mind. What to do next, where to go, whom to attack, not to forget to buy an item as soon as she had enough money, always keep an eye on her surrounding, keep track of the abilities of all heroes, enemy as well as allied, and so on.

It kept her occupied. And kept her from thinking about all those things she had experienced in her life.

That, and it gave her some resemblance of a purpose. For centuries now she had been drifting along, taking every quest she could get, simply to have a task to do. To have a goal. To have something to do. But there her reluctance to retreat from an unfulfillable task had nearly gotten her killed on more than one occasion. And she was still searching for the purpose in her life, ever since her former purpose had been erased from the world.

In the town wars that all didn't matter. The purpose was to destroy the enemy town while defending the own town. That simple.

Yet it worked because Lanaya felt almost content in this world of war. As much as one could feel content here.

The deer was in range, just barely, and the Templar Assassin reacted. She activated Refraction and attacked the enemy hero. She only got two hits before he backed away under the tower, but it was enough. She just wanted him to be weary so she could get the killing blows on the soldiers without interference. He used some ability to deal damage on an area this time and it was a good choice from him, because this way her invisibility wouldn't completely save her. He could conjure a small patch of spikes from the earth as well, which would have stunned her had she remained standing on one spot.

She knew what to deal with, now, but it didn't faze her.


	3. Chapter 3

It was time for the rune again. This time it was an invisibility rune and Lanaya decided to head to the bottom road. Maybe they could kill one or both enemy heroes there when they outnumbered them. She could come from their backs, invisible, and then they could attack. Three versus two, with the Crystal Maiden and the Juggernaut on her side, they shouldn't have a problem with those kills.

She followed the stream and stepped onto the bottom road. The fight was currently nearer to their tower and Lanaya could get an overview of the situation while she approached unseen. The soldiers were fighting while the Juggernaut only attacked when he wanted to deliver the killing blow. The beetle did the same, but he had the advantage that he was a ranged fighter, so he didn't have to venture that far forward. The mage kept attacking the Juggernaut as often as possible, so that he had to back away often because he would get too much damage otherwise. The Crystal Maiden tried to attack the beetle and the mage, but she had to go forward very far and was extremely vulnerable then. Lanaya's gaze lingered on her for a second longer than she had intended, taking in her features and her relaxed posture.

Moving forward, the Templar Assassin waited for the right moment to attack. The Crystal Maiden had spotted her but had immediately returned her focus onto the enemy heroes, so as not to alert them to her presence behind them. If the Juggernaut knew she was there wasn't evident, because due to the mask he wore, which covered his whole face, it wasn't possible to discern in which direction he was really looking. Lanaya suspected he kept his head facing forward while his eyes kept moving to take in his surroundings.

The Crystal Maiden looked at something on the road a few times. A pointed look, like a signal, and Lanaya realized she had placed a Sentry Ward there. This meant they had to get the beetle inside of the vision range of that Ward. She nodded at the woman and took her battle stance as a sign that she was ready to go.

Then the fight began. The beetle was encased in ice and the Juggernaut began to whirl around himself, dealing damage to every enemy around him while being immune to magical attacks. That was really useful, since he was paired against a mage, who was now helpless to his attack.

Deciding to go for the beetle first, the Assassin joined the fight. And realized that the enemy hero was absolutely easy to kill, with a Sentry Ward standing on the road and three heroes dealing damage to him. She even got the last hit, because the Juggernaut had followed the retreating mage. The mage got away but it had been a successful gank nonetheless. She nodded at the two allied heroes and headed back to her road.

"That was cool!" She could hear the voice of the Crystal Maiden behind her. She was so easy to excite and Lanaya could almost envy her for that. She seemed always happy and found joy in even the smallest things.

During the last war, the Templar Assassin had seen the Maiden standing in the woods, staring at something. When she had walked up to her, to see what she was looking at, there had been two huge butterflies, dancing in the air, their colourful wings shining in the sunlight. The Crystal Maiden had smiled. "Aren't they beautiful?" she had whispered.

Lanaya wasn't like that. She would never have noticed the butterflies. And she never got excited about some situation in a town war, though she had her fair share of 'dominating' streaks and some impressive 'ultra kills'. It was simply something she did, fighting and killing the enemy. And she knew she was good at that, too.

Back on the middle road the deer man was missing. Maybe he was trying to gank on the top road. The Templar Assassin debated for a second to go there, too, to be able to help her allied heroes. But if the man had gone there she would be too late anyway. So she stayed on the road and just tried to get a few hits against the enemy tower before the deer was back. It was a little risky, because she was standing extremely near to the tower and the enemy heroes could advance from her back, trapping her between the tower and an attacking enemy. If she used her invisibility here the building would reveal her, so that couldn't be her escape strategy. If she was fast enough, she could use Refraction, run past the tower and turn into the woods. From there she could circle back. But only if there wasn't more than one enemy hero. As long as only the deer came back, it would be no problem with Refraction to get past him and out of the shooting range of the tower. Assuming she was able to skirt his stun.

When the wave of soldiers she had gone along with was wiped out, she headed back to wait for the next wave. No use in standing under an enemy tower alone. And with the next wave of enemy soldiers the deer man reappeared.

Lanaya kept her aggressive fighting stile to keep the enemy hero on edge and wary. But she didn't stay long on her road anymore. She bought Boots of Speed, to be able to run faster and Gloves of Haste for higher attack speed. Next would follow the Belt of Strength, which would upgrade her Boots. And then she would save for a Blink Dagger. The item would enable her to blink forward a few feet and appear unexpected next to an enemy or disappear from the spot where she had gone invisible. Since she couldn't move without the invisibility to break the enemy had to know where she was when they saw her vanish suddenly. They could either use something to detect her or use area damage to hurt her. So the Blink Dagger could save her life.

She thought about heading to the top road next but somehow she headed to the bottom rune spot automatically and from there on it was rather senseless to head to the top road. Like she was pulled towards the Crystal Maiden, though she would deny it with every fibre of her being should someone voice it.

This time she wasn't invisible so she advanced through the woods instead of going through the stream. Her allied heroes would be able to see her while the enemy wasn't, if she stood on the right spot. Since she had participated in many town wars, she was familiar with the terrain, knew every path and every shadow.

The Crystal Maiden saw her as soon as she stepped into her vision range. It was as if the woman was somehow attuned to her because she always seemed to know it when she was near. The ice woman took a few steps back and brought some distance between herself and the fighting soldiers. That could only mean she wasn't ready to start an attack. So Lanaya waited.

A Flying Courier, the delivery service from the merchant in town, arrived and brought something for the Maiden. It had been what she had been waiting for because now she placed a Sentry Ward. Then she looked directly at Lanaya, her blue eyes bright, and smiled. At the same time she went forward and immediately encased the beetle in ice, like the last time. The Juggernaut reacted quickly and attacked and the Assassin started running. She had to round a patch of trees before she could participate in the fight and then the beetle had already been able to vanish. He was fast when he was invisible and had been able to leave the vision range of the Ward. But she left the forest behind the mage, who hadn't retreated this time, because he hadn't seen the Templar Assassin and had thought he was safe.

She attacked, activated Refraction, and placed one of the Psionic Traps she could create on the path, which the mage would want to take to get away. She sprung the trap, which then slowed the movement of the enemy. She could only hope it was enough for the Crystal Maiden and the Juggernaut to attack him as well so they would be able to get a hero kill. An ice explosion slowed the mage's movements even more, or again, and the Juggernaut was now near enough to join her attack. But the mage wasn't helpless. He lifted the Juggernaut into the air and then he cast something like a band of green light that dealt damage. It didn't matter to Lanaya, though, because her Refraction blocked the damage.

The tower started to shoot at her but the mage had stopped running to use his abilities and he was heavily injured. In no way would she back away now. She only needed to deal a few more hits then she would have the kill. So she kept attacking and followed when he resumed his retreat.

She was fast enough, her focus never wavering from the retreating form in front of her, and she got the kill. The beetle appeared behind her but she turned into the woods to her right, which made her leave the beetle's line of sight so he couldn't attack her. She appeared next to first tower of the enemy, which was currently under attack from their soldiers.

The Crystal Maiden looked at her questioningly and she couldn't stop herself from nodding her 'yes'. The small woman smiled, then, her eyes sparkling. "You are very skilled."

Lanaya grit her teeth and turned away to refrain from smiling back. It was so compelling to answer the always friendly Maiden with friendliness. But that wasn't the Assassin. She wasn't friendly and she wouldn't start now. It would only distract her from her current goal: destroying the heart of the enemy town while keeping the one of her town safe. She didn't have to be friendly to achieve that. And the Crystal Maiden was their support no matter if she talked to her or not.

Back on the middle road she pushed the image of the smiling Maiden out of her mind. It was like any other battle. She concentrated on what was important to make the kill, to stay alive and to win the war. Everything else was just an unnecessary distraction. Normally this state of blankness in her mind was very welcome and she fell into it easily.

But for the first time in her life the calmness didn't come. She struggled with the attempt to keep her mind blank, to focus on the battle around her and nothing else. It was difficult. She kept thinking about the Crystal Maiden, waiting for the moment the rune would be there again so she could go for another gank on the bottom road. And then she made the first mistake, missing the last hit on an enemy soldier.

Irritated she stared at the dead body and, instantly, missed the second last hit. Lanaya grit her teeth, forcing herself to go through all the things she needed to be aware of. How many enemies, what enemies, where were they standing, where was she positioned in this fight, what options did she have in case of an offensive, what injuries did she have and so on. When her mind had collected all the information she needed she started at the beginning again. How many enemies… But she had to force herself to do it and that was absolutely abnormal. Normally she liked the routine in it, liked the clear rules. She liked how she knew every possible step in these wars.

And now one woman, one tiny woman, had thrown her off track and she felt lost. She hated this feeling. It had been the first reason why she had joined the town wars. And now she felt it here, too.

Then she made the second mistake. She hadn't kept an eye on the deer on the other side of the stream and when he attacked, she was absolutely unprepared. She had been so unfocused, she had missed that he had gotten enough experience to skill his ultimate ability. And when he cast the lightning onto her and she went invisible on instinct, she had forgotten that the deer man had three skills that were cast onto an area and not onto an enemy. Which meant: her invisibility gained her absolutely nothing. Even the Refraction to shield her from damage could only catch as much, and the abilities of the man were strong. Before her mind had caught up to what was happening and that her instinctive reaction had been the wrong one, she was already dead.

Resurrected in the safe zone, Lanaya took a few deep breaths, trying to get her inner focus back. She didn't have time to meditate now but she had learned to clear her mind fast if she had to. After a few seconds she felt better, calmer. Even her Psionic Energy flowed slower now. So she teleported back to first tower on the middle road, confident that she wouldn't be killed like that again.

With her focus back on the fight she was able to harass the deer man enough to get him to stay near his tower. She was strong and when she used her abilities right, her Psionic Energy dealing much damage, she was an opponent the deer man had to fear.

In the back of her mind the thought formed that she had to go and take the rune, but if she left now she would go to the bottom road for a gank and she knew that she would lose her focus as soon as she saw the Crystal Maiden smiling at her again.

She just had to get along without using her bottle. It was a little disadvantage but not too much, since the Maiden had a skill that granted every hero in her team a higher regeneration rate of the mana they needed for their abilities. It was enough for the Templar Assassin to be able to use her skills without the bottle.

And when the deer man left, probably to get one of the runes and go for a gank, Lanaya pushed the enemy soldiers as fast back as she could because she wanted to get the first hits on the enemy tower. If she got the building down, it would grant her extra money as well and as long as she had no enemy hero against her on the road she could go forward.

The next wave of enemy soldiers appeared but her attacks already hit several enemies because her Psy Blades sliced through the first ones, hitting the ones behind as well.

She kept an eye on the stream at her back to see the deer man soon enough to be able to retreat. Instead she kind of felt the presence of the Crystal Maiden drawing nearer a few moments before she saw her and the Juggernaut making their way to the top road. The Maiden waved at Lanaya. "Hey Assassin, better come with us. The two from the bottom road are missing and if they gank you here it could end badly. If they are all at the top road we'll need your help."

Lanaya didn't want to go with them. She was well able to fend for herself and she didn't care if the others might need her help. But she followed the tiny woman nonetheless. Because she would help her, if she was in danger. As soon as this thought formed she tried to push it away. She didn't care about others, ever. Not even about a cute and always cheerful woman. But she couldn't really convince herself of that. And as they neared the top road she did not only check for threads to herself but also for threads to the Maiden a few feet in front of her. She was their support and therefore easier to kill for the enemy heroes, which made her the focus in case of an attack. It was good that she was between the Juggernaut and her.

They headed through the enemy woods to the road to surprise the enemy heroes who were fighting there. The Templar Assassin was ready and when she saw movement to her right, she placed one of her Psionic Traps and when the enemy hero stepped onto it, she sprung it. And initiated the attack. The Crystal Maiden reacted quickly as well but suddenly Lanaya was surrounded by all five enemy heroes.

She fought, her concentration suddenly one hundred percent back with the prospect that the Maiden would be their next focus should she fail, her actions precise and deadly. But when she went invisible, the deer man was prepared and used the spikes he could conjure from the earth to stun her though he couldn't see her.

But though the Maiden might be an easy kill, she wasn't weak. And the Juggernaut had realized what was happening, too. A second before the Templar Assassin was killed the second time in this war, she saw four enemy heroes fall, to the ice of the Maiden as well as to the ultimate ability of the Juggernaut, a fury of blades that dealt massive damage to all of them.


	4. Chapter 4

In the safe zone Lanaya was not even irritated that she had been killed. She never got really angry due to her lack of emotions, but she didn't like it, either. This time, though, it didn't matter at all to her. She was even a little glad that it had been her and not the Crystal Maiden they had gotten. The thought had her frowning before she took a little time to get her focus back and to push the woman from her mind.

It worked okay but as soon as she left the town said woman was running towards her and all of Lanaya's concentration was gone again. The Assassin gritted her teeth in irritation. How could one woman bring her off track so easily? It was a mystery to Lanaya. But not one she intended to solve.

If it hadn't been too obvious that she was avoiding the Maiden she would have turned away from her. And when the woman stopped in front of her, her distress clearly visible on her face, she thought she should have gone another way, no matter how it looked like. And when the Crystal Maiden started to speak, and Lanaya had the sudden urge to reassure her, she knew that she should have turned away as soon as she had seen her.

"I am so sorry I couldn't do more to save you!" And from her expression she really was sorry. Though the Templar Assassin didn't see why it should be her fault. But it was probably her nature, just like she was friendly to everyone, no matter how unfriendly they were towards her.

It took the Templar Assassin a few seconds to answer, because she had to swallow the nice words she wanted to say. Instead she gave her a curt: "Wasn't your fault." before continuing on her way. She felt the Maiden staring after her.

Before she reached first tower on the road, which she realized wasn't middle road but top road, she had enough time to repeat her routine of getting her focus back. Goal: destroy the heart of the enemy town. Notice: the heart of her own town had to be protected, she had to stay alive, kill as many enemy heroes as possible, destroy the enemy towers. The way: fighting and fighting.

When she reached the point where the soldiers were fighting she went through her second routine: how many enemies, what enemies, and so on.

And when the two enemy heroes from this road, a knight on a horse with dark armour and a voodoo priest with purple skin, appeared, she was more than prepared. And though they were two against one, she did well enough, her Psionic Energy strong. It was almost funny to watch how they struggled against her and how they backed away when the Beastmaster and the Morphling reappeared.

The Templar Assassin had thought the time away from the Crystal Maiden would be good for her and that she would feel more balanced. But the opposite happened. She kept looking into the woods, if she would come to the top road with the Juggernaut again. She wasn't able to focus on the fight in front of her properly, her thoughts drifting back to the woman more than once. It was annoying and as soon as one of the enemy heroes made the mistake of coming too far forward, she attacked, angry at herself and trying to push the beautiful, smiling face of the Maiden out of her mind by being more aggressive. The danger it posed for her would leave her no time to think.

It worked well enough. The Beastmaster and the Morphling adapted to her more aggressive fighting style extremely quickly and they were able to destroy the enemy tower because the two heroes made no move to hinder them. And then the Morphling charged forward and stunned the knight. Lanaya joined the attack and when the voodoo priest tried to save the knight with an ability that dealt extremely much damage, even to the Assassin, the Beastmaster was there and he had an ability to stun an enemy as well. He disrupted whatever the priest had been doing and stunned the knight, who had just been about to move, again. Three against two they were now able to kill both enemy heroes, especially since the priest was, completely without any armour, an easy victim.

Afterwards she returned to the middle road, collecting the rune from the rune spot on her way. The deer man was there but he was alone. He had probably used the time where she had been gone to kill as many soldiers as possible to get the money. Now that she was back she would make it harder for him again. But she wouldn't stay long on this road. The war had progressed and it was time to change the roads more often now, to get together with the others instead of going alone. It was a team performance to win this war and even Lanaya needed support against five enemy heroes.

She debated where she should go next and the Crystal Maiden snuck back into her thoughts. Lanaya would almost have hissed at the deer man when he used one of his abilities in exactly the second where her concentration had wavered. This war was starting to get extremely annoying. She was here because she liked it, the purpose it gave her. Normally she would have liked the challenge the deer man presented, as well, but she only felt irritated when he attacked her, nothing like the thrill a worthy opponent normally caused.

When the Crystal Maiden ran through the stream to the middle road and a sudden burst of panic speared through her body as the deer man turned towards her, she even knew why the challenge was not welcome this time. The Templar Assassin was afraid that what was a challenge for her was the death for the Maiden. And as much as she tried to block all feelings regarding the woman, she knew that the sight of her dying would be absolutely dreadful.

Before the deer man could switch his focus onto the easier target, the Templar Assassin started her offensive. It almost worked, especially since the Maiden was near enough then to use her abilities and the Juggernaut came out of the woods at her back as well. But the deer man wasn't alone anymore, either, and even the ice of the ice woman wasn't strong enough to kill all enemy heroes.

They ignored Lanaya with her Refraction and the dark knight stunned the Crystal Maiden with a burst of magic, interrupting the raining ice she had caused. The Templar Assassin, as well as the Juggernaut, had nothing to stop their forward movement and it didn't take them long, only a few hits of their blades, to kill the cheerful woman and leave her lying in a pool of blood.

This time Lanaya didn't try to supress her feelings. She would probably not have been able to. With a cry on her lips she attacked, her Psy Blades cutting through everyone in her way. She was relentless and the enemy seemed unsure how to react to her sudden outburst of fury and aggression.

Two went for her and tried to kill her while two retreated. It was perfect, because two were no match for the Assassin. She used everything she had, totally focused on killing the ones who had hurt the Crystal Maiden. And when the first was dead and the second tried to flee she felt, for the first time in this town war, the calm she had been missing. She had a goal: to kill the retreating enemy hero, no matter what cost. Her focus was there, as if she had not struggled all the time, her purpose clear. She was as deadly as ever, the Templar Assassin on the hunt. The enemy hero had no chance.

But as soon as he was dead, the Assassin could feel the agony at seeing the Crystal Maiden die, again. She had to grit her teeth to stop from crying out, the pain slicing through her body as if she was attacked. She had looked even tinier in front of the dark knight on his horse. Vulnerable.

She had to stay away from the woman, had to stop looking at her. So she decided to go to the bottom road and kill the enemy soldiers. She would try to get the tower there as well and she could definitely do that alone. She would try to stay alone on a road and just hope that the others would be able to fight the enemy heroes without her. If they tried to gank her she would be prepared.

First tower went down without her encountering any resistance. So she kept going for second tower. She was aware that she wasn't as deadly as normally, because her focus wasn't as good as normally. But it had to be enough.

When three enemy heroes appeared she was able to get away, though it was a narrow escape. She was definitely not one hundred percent concentrated and it showed. She was extremely lucky though, because at the rune spot a regeneration rune was waiting. Then she headed to the middle road, wanting to get second tower there as long as three enemy heroes were at the bottom road.

That was where the others joined her.

The Templar Assassin tried to ignore them, especially the Crystal Maiden, and just focus on what she wanted to do: destroy the tower. But she could feel the Maiden behind her, could sense were she was standing, what she was doing. Lanaya was somehow attuned to every move the woman made. It had been that way for almost all the war now, Lanaya just hadn't noticed it before. Maybe the awareness had gotten stronger somehow or it was because this time the ice woman was behind her and she still knew where she was and what she was doing though she didn't see her.

At first it made her crazy to be so aware of her but then she realized: if she always knew where she was and what she was doing, she would always know if she was in danger. Maybe it was something good and not something bad. She had worked all the time against this awareness with the belief that it would distract her. But especially after the last fight, when the woman had died, it seemed like a good thing to know where she was. Maybe then she could prevent her death in the next fight.

Lanaya took a deep breath and accepted the awareness she had of the Crystal Maiden. It was against everything she had learned, against the fact that she was an assassin, trained always to act alone and not to care about any other creature. But as soon as she stopped to fight this strange bond between her and the Maiden, as soon as she accepted the fact that she was attuned to her, her mind calmed down and her body relaxed.

It was such a sudden reaction that the Assassin stopped to fight for a second. All this restlessness inside of her was gone all of a sudden.

And when the first enemy hero appeared out of the woods on their flank, she could feel it through the Maiden and react before anyone else had a chance to, even the enemy. She was fast and deadly and when someone attacked the women from her back, Lanaya switched her focus, leaving the one in front of her to the Juggernaut. The Crystal Maiden was between them now, completely shielded by them, and she began to cast the raining ice. It was a perfect fight and even the third hero, who tried to attack the Maiden, was hindered before he could get his first hit.

When the fight was over the Templar Assassin was still standing in front of the Crystal Maiden, her Psy Blades ready to attack and the Refraction still shielding her. But the enemy heroes were all gone. Lanaya thought they hadn't gotten all but she wasn't sure what the others had done while she had been protecting the woman behind her. And strange enough, it didn't matter.

"Wow, Assassin, that was unbelievable!" The Crystal Maiden's voice was full of admiration. Lanaya couldn't help herself, she had to turn around. The Maiden was absolutely beautiful, some ice shards still clinging to her blond hair, making it sparkle, while her eyes were such a bright blue, they looked like the clear sky on the coldest day of winter. And she was smiling again, her expression full of wonder and joy. Her gaze captivated Lanaya's and she found herself unable to look away. "You are really awesome! And thank you for protecting me. That was nice of you."

The Templar Assassin blushed at the praise and was absolutely glad that half her face was hidden by a mask and the other half was mostly covered with war paint. Because, an assassin who blushed after a compliment? Not very assassin-like.

"Hey Rylai, could you help pushing, please, as long as they are all dead?" The Juggernaut was hacking at the enemy soldiers with his sword, his deep voice slightly muffled behind the mask he was wearing.

"On my way!" the Crystal Maiden answered before she winked at Lanaya and ran towards him.

The Templar Assassin kept standing on the same spot, she simply turned around to be able to keep looking at the woman. She was confused. First about this awareness she had for the Maiden. Then about how her mind and body had reacted after she had stopped to try to push this awareness away. She was definitely confused about how she had found her inner focus while protecting the woman. And about their encounter just then.

The Juggernaut said something to the Crystal Maiden and she laughed. And, to add to all the confusion she already felt, the Templar Assassin smiled at the sound of her joy. When she realized that she was still staring at the Maiden with a smile on her face (luckily hidden behind her half mask) like some retard, she frowned and turned away, leaving the road.

Something was definitely wrong with her. But at least she had figured out how she was able to concentrate in the fights. That was definitely an improvement to the first half of the war.

Lanaya tried to sort through her feelings while she was on the bottom road. She fought against the soldiers there and then she went into the woods to kill some of the beasts that lived under the trees. This way she spent some time getting money and experience. It was nothing for which she would need a lot of concentration and so she let her mind wander, going through all her encounters with the Crystal Maiden, even the ones in the last war. At some point her feelings towards the woman had changed and now she tried to pinpoint this encounter. Not that it mattered much. She couldn't undo it anyway.

At first she hadn't really noticed her. She didn't care who was in her team in the town wars and so she didn't waste any time with looking at them or learning their names. The first time she had noticed her had been when they had won a team fight and she had laughed, the sound so in contrast to the fight that Lanaya had been absolutely astonished by it. She had looked at the woman for the first time and her beauty, especially when she was laughing like that, had erased all thoughts in her head. It wasn't as if she had never seen a beautiful woman before. Lanaya wasn't ugly and as a famous assassin she could get her pick of beautiful women all over the world. It was more the joy in life, which radiated from her body, that made her so breathtakingly and dizzyingly gorgeous.

But this had not been the problem. The Templar Assassin had been focused enough after that. Of course she had glanced at the Maiden from time to time but it was only because she was bootylicious and she couldn't help but admire her body. She had fought with the Queen of Pain once and she had stared at her even more (she was a demon woman who ran around half naked all the time and had a body to die for). So this hadn't been it.

Maybe it was just all together, her good looks paired with her friendliness and her selflessness. The longer she thought about it the more she was sure that she couldn't pinpoint the time when she had developed this awareness or since when she felt so drawn to the woman, felt the need to protect her.

Lanaya had never felt such a connection to any creature since her tutor had died.

Maybe she should just seduce her after the town war. Maybe it would clear her head to get hot and sweaty with the Crystal Maiden.

But even more important: she had to choose her team mates in the next town war so she wouldn't have to fight with her again. She didn't think that sex with her would let this connection dissolve. In the worst case it would even get stronger.

The Templar Assassin stopped when a thought struck her. She could choose her allies in a town war but she couldn't choose her enemies. What if the Maiden was on the opposite team and she had to fight against her? The Assassin wasn't stupid and she knew that she would never in all her life be able to harm her. Which was a real problem. Her only goal in life was to participate in the town wars and destroy the heart of the enemy town. She couldn't achieve this goal if the Crystal Maiden was protecting said heart. Which left only one option: if she couldn't fight against the Maiden she had to fight with her, no matter how distracting it was. She couldn't not fight in the town wars because then she would be stranded in the real world again, without purpose, feeling useless and lost. So that was no option either.

So fighting town wars together with the Crystal Maiden it would be. She wasn't the least happy with this decision but since it was the only option for her she didn't have a choice.

Taking a deep breath, Lanaya resumed killing the beasts in the woods while making her way to the middle road. There she met the Crystal Maiden and the Juggernaut again, who were slowly retreating from the advance of all five enemy heroes. The Templar Assassin moved parallel to them, staying in the shadows of the woods and waiting for the right opportunity to attack. The opportunity was presented by the Morphling and the Beastmaster, who appeared at the back of the enemy. They were definitely ready to attack and Lanaya wasted no time to go for the first enemy hero.

Someone had placed a Sentry Ward on the road, so when the beetle went invisible they were still able to see him. The fight, which then broke out full force, was complete chaos. The knight could make illusions of himself and the spells from the voodoo priest and the deer man were all colourful, creating flashes of colour all over the battle field, making it harder to concentrate on focusing on one enemy hero. And then the Crystal Maiden dowsed everything in ice. She had encased the priest in ice and was making snow and ice rain down on all of them now, dulling everything with a white blanket.

In all this chaos, colours, noises and movements, Lanaya was absolutely calm. She stayed near the Maiden all the time, attacking with her Psy Blades while keeping an eye on all heroes. Her hits were well aimed and precise, designed to deal as much damage as possible. Only when the first two enemy heroes were down and the others started to retreat did the Assassin leave her place at the side of the Maiden. Now it was time for her to go on the hunt, to kill those who thought they were fast enough to escape an assassin. The Morphling was by her side, his ability to rush forward making him even faster than the Assassin.

The three enemy heroes weren't stupid, though, and they parted ways, making it impossible for Lanaya to kill them all.

It was good enough, though, and they kept going forward. They were all still alive and when the Juggernaut activated some kind of healing ward, their injuries vanished.

And that suddenly they had won the war. They were able to destroy the barracks of the enemy town on the entrance of the middle road. When the heroes were all resurrected and ready to defend their town, they backed away a little. But they only used the time to switch roads and start their next attack on the bottom road. They were confident now and the Templar Assassin, having found a way to fight with the same focus and precision as always, was rocking it. She could feel the presence of the ice woman a little behind her all the time, calming her.

Finally she didn't feel off balance though she had to admit that her goal had somehow changed over the last fights. Her purpose now wasn't only to destroy the heart of the enemy town. It was to protect the Crystal Maiden and in the course of that to destroy the enemy town. But it was working and so Lanaya stopped questioning it. She took her need to protect the Maiden and used it as her new focus point instead of trying to push it away. She wasn't sure to what it would lead but at the moment she didn't have the time to think about it. She had to win a town war and if that was the best way to achieve this goal, she would take it.

The next fight against the enemy heroes was not as successful as the previous one, because this time two of their allied heroes died as well. But Lanaya didn't really care. The Maiden was alive and almost unharmed and her own injuries didn't faze her in the least. They just kept going for the enemy towers and the barracks at this entrance to the town and then went to the top road. There they would wait for their allied heroes while going through the woods to kill the beasts. And then they would start their last attack, going for the tower on the entrance to the town at the top road and then for the two towers in front of the heart.


	5. Chapter 5

It went as smooth as Lanaya had hoped it would. It was almost sad to see how fast the enemy heroes died one after the other as soon as the fight had started. And, sure enough, it was over. They stood next to the remains of the destroyed and crumbled heart of the enemy town, the soldiers all around them cheering.

The Morphling and the Beastmaster vanished almost instantly and without another word. The Juggernaut remained and walked to the Crystal Maiden, who smiled at him. "You were good. Do you want to start the next war or take a little break first?"

"A break would be cool," the man answered. "But Kunkka will flay me alive if you come to any harm. Not to mention the Gorgon. So I suggest we get to the next town war."

Her smile disappeared and she sighed. She didn't seem to be overly happy about the decision the Juggernaut had made. Then she looked at the Templar Assassin. Lanaya came closer. Now that the war was over she was uncertain if her idea was a good one. But better to be in the same team as having the Maiden as an opponent.

And so, for the first time since she had met her, Lanaya addressed the woman. "I would like to join you for the next town war."

The Crystal Maiden raised her brows. "You … what?"

"Want to join you. As: fight in the same team."

The woman looked at the Juggernaut, who just shrugged. When she looked at the Assassin again, she was frowning slightly. "You want to fight with me again?"

"Yes. That's what I'm saying."

"I'm a little surprized, but why not."

And that was when the Templar Assassin realized how much she had wanted the woman to answer with 'yes'. Her whole body relaxed and the uncertainty she had felt earlier was gone as well. It seemed it had been uncertainty about the Maiden's answer and not about fighting in another war with her. And when the tiny woman smiled at her now she couldn't supress to smile back. Though it couldn't be seen through her mask, for which she was grateful once again.

Together they left the town with the destroyed heart just to appear in the safe zone of another town. The next war had started immediately.

Lanaya didn't talk to the others, completely ignoring the two allies that were new to their team. She would go to the middle road again and the Crystal Maiden would stay with the Juggernaut. He would protect her and the Assassin would check on her during her ganks. And later, when there were more fights with the whole team involved, she could protect the woman.

It was like the last war, except this time the Assassin knew how she had to deal with the need to protect the Maiden, how she could use the connection that was between them to her advantage. And she was more than sure that she would be even better now than in the last war. She wouldn't be as distracted as before and so she would be as deadly as ever.

It was rather uneventful at the beginning. Her opponent on the middle road was some kind of beast with a large horn on his head and a giant spear in his hands. He was a melee hero so it wasn't overly hard to hit him or to get the killing blows on the soldiers. He went to get the runes, just like her, but he took, right from the beginning, the ones on the side where the Crystal Maiden wasn't. So Lanaya could get the rune and go on to check on the Maiden.

She didn't go with the first rune, and not with the second. But when she took the third one, a haste rune, she went to gank. And was shocked to find the Juggernaut alone on the road. He seemed grim even though she couldn't see his face. So it wasn't going very good on the road.

The Templar Assassin decided to stay a little longer then intended and try to help them. It was not very profitable to stay on a road with three heroes but it was even less so when they were in pairs and died all the time.

The Crystal Maiden ported in with a frown on her face. When she saw Lanaya, though, she smiled. The Assassin nodded in her direction and then she concentrated on the fight. The haste rune had gained her nothing because due to the Maiden's absence they hadn't been able to gank the enemy heroes. She would go for the next rune hoping that they would be able to kill one of the enemy heroes, then.

But the situation on the road got more relaxed now, with them being three against two. And maybe the tow opponents would stay further back now that they knew that the Templar Assassin was coming to gank them from time to time. That would make it easier for the Juggernaut to get the last hits on the soldiers. Lanaya was aggressive, attacking the enemy heroes as often as possible to make them wary.

With a last look at the Maiden she then vanished into the woods to go to the rune spot. It only was a bounty rune so she decided to go to the middle road. The beast would get too many killing blows if he was left alone for too long. She just hoped that the Crystal Maiden was careful. Lanaya hadn't dared ask her if she had died because simply the possibility was somehow painful. The first shock she had felt when the Maiden hadn't been on the road had decreased when she had felt the woman moving behind her. And she was almost sure that the Maiden had felt safer with her on the road. Almost as if Lanaya could pick up feelings from the connection between them. Maybe the connection was getting stronger the more time they spent together. Or she had just imagined it.

The fight on the middle road was good. Lanaya killed enough soldiers while hitting at the beast from time to time. She felt confident, calm, and focused again and enjoyed the war, if one could say joy about something like that. But she felt better with the purpose back in her life, with the goal clear. More balanced.

And though she wasn't able to kill the beast she was able to deal enough damage so he had to stay away from her.

As soon as the next rune was at the rune spot, Lanaya left the middle road. It was no action rune but she went to check on the Crystal Maiden nonetheless. It was about time that they stayed in larger groups. Maybe they should stay together and join the other two from their team.

Approaching the road, the Templar Assassin used the shadows of the trees to stay out of sight as long as possible. She left the woods behind the enemy heroes and started an attack immediately. She just hoped that the Juggernaut and the Maiden would join as well, but even if they didn't she still had her ability to go invisible to get away. Her allies were both too injured to do much and Lanaya realized that she had just saved them. Because the enemy heroes kind of panicked when they saw her approaching, backing away from the tower without even attacking the Assassin. They just ran past her, trying to get as far away as possible. And, since it was relatively early in the war, she only got one killed while the other was able to escape.

"That was close." The Crystal Maiden said. "Thank you so much!"

She was heavily injured, her breathing heavy. And her smile, normally always there, had vanished. She looked a little forlorn and distressed, clearly not happy with how this war was going. Lanaya had never seen her like that before and she had the sudden impulse to comfort her. And, for the first time, she wondered why the Maiden participated in these wars. This was, minimum, her third in a row and when she thought about it, it didn't really match her personality to fight in such wars all the time. The Templar Assassin almost asked her, had already opened her mouth, before she stopped herself. She wasn't here to make friends and even though she had accepted the connection between her and the Maiden that didn't mean she had to talk to her or learn something about her. It was only convenience that had driven her to fight together with her in one team and nothing more. And this was all it would ever be.

And so, without a word or another glance in her direction, she went back to the middle road. She had gotten what she wanted, to kill an enemy hero, and now she didn't have to stay. With only one enemy hero against them the Juggernaut would be able to protect her.

But she felt restless now. She had seen how close the woman had been to dying and it made her nervous. She wanted to protect her and not being near enough to do so wasn't good. She had thought the Juggernaut would be enough but it looked as if the two enemy heroes were too strong. And she had just left them alone again, had left the Crystal Maiden unprotected.

She had been injured. Of course the Juggernaut could heal them but it hadn't been enough so far, so why should it be different now?

The Templar Assassin gritted her teeth. She couldn't stay on the middle road any longer when the Crystal Maiden was in danger. But it was okay, she thought. Staying with her didn't change anything considering the goal to destroy the enemy heart. It simply changed the method to do it.

So, not even wanting to think about the significance of the act, she followed her feelings and headed back to the ice woman's side.

When the Maiden saw her approaching again, the smile on her face was full of relief. And Lanaya wondered why she had gone back to the middle road again when she had known that it was hard for her two allies on their road. That it was hard for the Maiden without her on the road. She felt bad for leaving her earlier but she would try even harder now to protect the woman, to make her feel safe.

Before she could stop herself, she locked gazes with the Maiden and said: "I'll stay with you now."

It was a promise to her. And because the Assassin never broke a promise she had made, she had stopped long ago to promise anything. That she did so now was extremely uncharacteristic. But what wasn't, related to the Maiden.

Her smile got even wider, her eyes sparkling. She was so very beautiful and Lanaya felt a sudden surge of joy that she was the one who could make her feel safe and who could make her smile like that.

With the three of them it was easy enough to fight the two enemy heroes and after some time they decided to switch roads. The two against them on the road were way too wary now and stayed far away from them. So they didn't gain anything with staying. They would be more successful when they could surprise the enemy on one of the other roads.

They went through the stream, the Crystal Maiden between the Juggernaut at the front and the Assassin on the rear. And it was a good choice to do so, because just when they had crossed the middle road Lanaya could hear someone behind them while the sound of a fight in front of them got stronger. She kept her focus on whoever was approaching them from behind while she left the front to the Juggernaut. The Maiden hadn't realized that they were being followed but she didn't have to know. The Templar Assassin was fully capable to fight against two enemy heroes on her own and the Maiden could help in the fight in front of them.

So, when they approached the battle, she fell back a little to intercept whoever was coming. Then she went invisible and waited. She was aware of the Maiden's movement behind her, how she neared the fighting heroes and encased one enemy in ice while the Juggernaut jumped right in the middle, slashing his blade from side to side. Still Lanaya waited, patiently, without moving. The sound of steps drew nearer and then she could see two enemy heroes. She just wanted to attack, when the beast from the middle road appeared, too. Now there were three against her and if none of her allies joined her, she wouldn't be able to defeat them all by herself. The only other option, instead of attacking them, was to let them pass. But since the first one they would attack then would definitely be the Crystal Maiden, this option was out of the question.

The second where the first one was close enough for her Psy Blades to hit, she activated Refraction and threw the first blade. It sliced through the enemy hero, hitting the other two, who were right behind him, as well. Before they realized what was happening she had placed another two hits but then they reacted. And at least one of them had an ability to stun her, so even her Refraction wasn't able to save her. The three of them dealt massive damage.

Of course the Templar Assassin went invisible as soon as the stun duration was over but she didn't remain invisible, due to the fact that the Maiden was too vulnerable behind her. Lanaya wanted the enemy heroes to focus on her while she dealt as much damage as she could. She could only hope that her allied heroes would then be able to take them down and that the Maiden would come to no harm. She placed one of her Psionic Traps to slow them down and then she attacked again.

Just before she died she saw one of her allies rushing past her while an explosion of ice appeared in front of her. It was too late for her, though, but with the thought that the three would stand no chance now against her allies and that the Maiden was safe, all around her went dark.

The Templar Assassin was resurrected inside of the safe zone. It hadn't quite gone as she had planned but it had been good enough. No way would they have been able to kill the Crystal Maiden as well, so the rest wasn't really important. They would win the war even if Lanaya died a few times. And the pain was definitely less than when she had to watch the Maiden die. Strange how the death of someone else could hurt her.

Now she only had to find the ice woman again but aside from the fact that she felt a light pull of the connection between them in one direction, the woman was coming towards her when she left the safe zone.

She looked definitely disturbed and upset. And she didn't stop in front of her but flung her arms around Lanaya's neck and hugged her. She buried her face in the crook between her neck and shoulder, holding onto her with a tight grip. The Assassin was completely swamped by this behaviour and just stood there while the tiny woman clung to her body, not sure how to react.

After a few moments the woman released Lanaya and took a step back, a somewhat haunted look in her eyes. "Why did you do that? You have to know that you have no chance against three enemy heroes!"

Of course she knew that, but that had been irrelevant at the time. "Did you get them?" she asked instead of answering.

The Crystal Maiden nodded. "They were extremely low. They were dead within seconds."

Lanaya nodded. "Good." Then she strode past the Maiden.

"Wait! Did you do that on purpose? You could just have stayed invisible and they would never have been able to kill you. They didn't have anything to detect you."

They were running side by side along the road now. Lanaya remained silent. There was nothing more to say from her side. She felt the Maiden looking at her from the corner of her eyes, trying to assess her.

It was weird to have someone like the Crystal Maiden by her side. Someone so different than her. Someone who, for some strange reason, seemed to like her, at least liked her as much as was possible while knowing so little about her. But if this connection wasn't one sided, if the Maiden could feel her like she could fell the Maiden, she knew more about her than any other living being. Which was weird as well.

The closer they drew to the fight on the road the more did the Maiden drop back, running behind her now instead of next to her. It made Lanaya relax because she had the feeling that she was safer behind her. That she could focus more on what was going on in front of her because the enemy wasn't able to reach the woman that far away.


	6. Chapter 6

Underneath first tower waited the Juggernaut while all five enemy heroes gathered, readying for the next fight. Lanaya stopped. They would be three against five like that and she would not take this fight under these circumstances. But the Maiden ran past her and she didn't have any other choice but to follow her into the fight.

As soon as they were in attack range the Juggernaut rushed forward, going for the first enemy hero. The Templar Assassin was anything but happy about it but she joined him without hesitation. And that was when her two allied heroes appeared as well. They had been around, too, and the Maiden had surely known about it, that being the reason why she hadn't stopped.

Still, even with their numbers balanced now, she stayed near the Crystal Maiden, making sure no one came near her. She wasn't able to kill as many enemies as she was used to but that wasn't important. And then she wished, for the first time since she had developed her abilities, that she could cast them on someone else instead of only onto herself. She could make the ice woman invisible or shield her from incoming damage with her Refraction.

That was the moment where she found a new goal, something that she wanted to achieve in her real life. It was a new challenge because she had never tried it before but she would find out how to cast her abilities on someone else. Or at least, how to cast them on the Crystal Maiden. Because she only wanted to protect her and no one else. Something new to learn, something to study. Something to do.

She had fought in so many wars she had stopped counting long ago. But this time she couldn't wait for it to end. She wanted to go to the temple she had first started studying and search for a way to use her abilities on someone else. She had left the temple because at the time she had learned everything there was to learn about the Psionic Energy she wielded. She had gone to another planet to learn more, had found a master of those energies, who had been her tutor until he had died.

The Hidden Temple though, it was her best choice to learn what she desired. Because she had never searched for anything that didn't increase the Psionic Energy around her own body so she was sure she had simply not looked into that field of study. She definitely hoped so, because her tutor was dead, his planet destroyed, and there was nobody in the world, who held greater knowledge of the Psionic Energies than the Templar Assassin.

They were going forward, killing the enemy soldiers and destroying the enemy towers. The enemy heroes were all dead for some time and they wanted to get as many buildings down in that time as possible. Then, before they started the next fight, they went through the woods onto the next road. The destruction of the towers brought them all money and so they destroyed the towers on all roads before going for the heart of the enemy town. It was the most common way to act in a town war but Lanaya felt restless. She wanted to end this war as fast as possible and not prolong it anymore.

But the Juggernaut was right. It was too risky to keep going on the top road, especially since they had all used their ultimate abilities and needed some time to regenerate. The enemy heroes would all be fully healed when they came out of the safe zone so they would have an advantage. Better to wait a little and then start a new initiative.

The Templar Assassin stayed close to the Crystal Maiden. The woman smiled at her but Lanaya ignored her. The Juggernaut was in front of them while the other two had parted ways with them to go to the shop of one of the merchants quickly. And that was the moment when disaster struck.

Maybe the enemy had been able to see that they were currently not all five together or maybe they had just been lucky. Whatever the reason, suddenly the three of them were standing against five enemy heroes. Three in front of them and two at their backs. And because the Juggernaut as well as the Crystal Maiden still weren't able to use their ultimate abilities, they weren't able to get as much damage against them as they would have under normal circumstances. Lanaya fought as best as she could but the enemy was strong. They had all their abilities ready and they attacked from two sides.

The Crystal Maiden was standing exactly in the middle of the fight but the knight on the horse was able to swap her away and it confused the Assassin, making her panic and loser her focus. From there on it went from bad to worse. The Juggernaut was able to kill one of the enemy heroes before he was taken down. The Crystal Maiden was next, falling under the attack of the buck, who had switched from visible to invisible in the fight and had chosen the woman as an easy target.

The last one to fall was the Templar Assassin, too stunned at seeing the Maiden die to do anything but stare at the spot where she was lying, blood pooling around her and colouring her light hair in a deep red. She didn't even feel the pain of the blade that killed her.

She was still in shock when she resurrected in the safe zone. Her eyes immediately locked on the form of the Crystal Maiden. She was standing in front of her, discussing with the Juggernaut. She was frowning slightly, gesturing with her free hand.

Lanaya felt it hard to breathe and it didn't get any better by looking at the woman. She seemed upset, not as good-humoured as normal and the Assassin felt as if it was her fault that the Maiden wasn't smiling. She took a step forward and before she could stop herself she blurted out: "I'm sorry."

The Juggernaut and the Crystal Maiden stopped talking and turned towards the Assassin. They didn't say anything for a few moments, just kept staring. Lanaya felt herself blushing. She hadn't meant to say that, it had slipped out of her mouth before her mind had registered what she was doing.

Then the Maiden smiled at her, only a little, but it changed her whole appearance. The Assassin relaxed, the smile chasing the shock at the sight of seeing her dying away. She now looked as alive as always, the cheerful and happy woman back. "Thank you," she said. "That is very nice of you. I don't think that it was your fault but I appreciate it."

Her blue eyes were bright, almost shining in the daylight. Her pale skin looked unbelievably soft, her rose coloured lips so very kissable and her personality so in contrast to the ice queen look of her. Not that Lanaya thought that the woman couldn't be ruthless if she wanted to, but she was more like the snowflakes that danced through the air than the ice that was rigid and freezing.

And while they kept staring at each other the smile on her face vanished and her eyes got paler, now almost white. Lanaya got lost in her eyes, her shock vanished and her feeling of guilt as well. The world around her stopped to exist for a moment, and the only thing that mattered was the woman in front of her, so beautiful and vulnerable. She felt calm and centred in that moment, her focus clear.

Suddenly the Juggernaut appeared beside the Crystal Maiden. "We have to go. The enemy will destroy our towers otherwise." The Maiden nodded, smiling at the Assassin one more time before following the man out of the safe zone.

Lanaya joined them, of course. But when they neared third tower of the middle road, the one at the entrance to their town, and she saw that all five enemy heroes were in front of it, she stopped. She grabbed the Maiden's wrist to keep her from going forward. "Don't." she said, without looking at her. "You stay back as far as you can. I don't want you to get killed again."

Without waiting for an answer she left her standing behind the tower. The Templar Assassin would go in while the Maiden remained safe behind the tower, able to support them from there.

She activated Refraction and jumped right in the middle of the five enemy heroes. She only hit them two times, though, before she went invisible, now waiting for her allies to act. They did act and as soon as she wasn't alone among the enemy, Lanaya resumed her attack. She was aware of the Crystal Maiden joining the fight, though she did stay back as much as possible.

The enemy had no chance and since she knew that the Maiden was safe, could feel it, the Assassin was able to fight like she did normally, using all her skill to kill one enemy after the other, chasing the ones who tried to get away, using Refraction to get less damage and invisibility to confuse them. It was an epic fight.

With the battle won, Lanaya turned to look at the Crystal Maiden. She had to make sure that she was alright, that she wasn't harmed. The relief that flooded her when she smiled was unbelievable. How could this tiny woman affect her in such a way? It seemed not possible and still. And when she came closer, her smile growing wider, she said: "That was the most breath-taking fight I have ever seen! You really seem invincible when you fight like that. I am totally in awe."

Lanaya blushed and then she couldn't stop her smile, full of pride and satisfaction. She had never before cared what others thought about her, if they thought her a good fighter. But hearing the Crystal Maiden praise her skills like that, it was absolutely wonderful. She couldn't stop smiling and this time she couldn't hide it. The Maiden saw it in her eyes, the mask over her mouth only hiding part of the smile and definitely not enough to hide it from the woman in front of her.

"Thank you."

Those two words made the Crystal Maiden laugh. "So you do know how to thank someone. I was already wondering." She winked and leaned a little closer. "You can do it more often, I promise I won't tell anyone that you have been nice to me."

She straightened again and moved past the Assassin, walking onto the road where their allies had already vanished from sight. Lanaya followed her with her eyes and she was sure that the woman was moving her hips more pronounced than normal. She got glimpses of her tight little ass under the cloak she was wearing and before her mind could give the command her body was already falling into step behind the ice woman. She was cute as a button but sexy as hell as well.

After half of the way Lanaya's mind began to work and she began to think again. Her focus came back and the need to protect the Maiden kicked in. The war wasn't over and the last death of the woman had definitely disturbed the Assassin. She was too vulnerable in the team fights, too easy a target.

The Templar Assassin passed the Crystal Maiden to be the first one in the line in case of an attack. The ice woman placed a Sentry Ward from time to time to see the buck when he was invisible and so they moved on. The wards were perfect because the buck did show up behind them. But the two women were strong enough to kill him together before he was able to get away. It was almost funny how easy it was to get him when they could see him. He was really useless, then.

And it meant they had only to face four enemy heroes in front of them now. It was almost like a walk in the park when they met them. And since the Crystal Maiden was out of danger the whole time, Lanaya could concentrate on the fight, killing without any emotion. The rest of her team was good, too, but she didn't really care what they were doing. Most times she couldn't even remember who had been in her team after a town war. It was insignificant.

She could feel when the Maiden drew nearer. She didn't turn, though, but kept killing the enemy soldiers and destroying the buildings. The ice woman helped. She didn't do much damage with her normal attacks but it wasn't nothing, either.

All of a sudden, completely unexpected for Lanaya, three enemy heroes appeared again. They should still have been dead but somehow they had come back sooner. The Crystal Maiden saw them and reacted almost as fast as the Assassin.

She began to cast and the raining ice started. It was beautiful, like she was dancing, the ice and the snow colouring the ground white all around the woman. It dealt massive damage while slowing the enemies and it was easy for the Templar Assassin to hit them.

Their three allies appeared as well and the fight was over before it had really begun.

The Maiden kept casting, even when they were dead. She was smiling, clearly enjoying that she could create cold, ice and snow like that. She was in her element, everything around her white, the blue from her clothes shining and the gems and the gold sparkling. When she stopped and the earth was covered with snow, she let herself fall backwards into the white, her arms stretched out to her sides. She landed with a soft sound, her fall cushioned by the snow, small flakes swirling around and over her body. She was still for a moment, then she moved her arms and legs over the ground.

Still smiling she stood up, snow clinging to her clothes, and jumped away from the place where she had been lying.

Lanaya was curios what she had been doing. She had looked at the woman while she had still been casting and had been transfixed by how beautiful she was. She hadn't been able to look away since, captured by the joyful smile on her face. She didn't understand why she had been lying in the snow and what she had been doing. But when she stepped next to the Crystal Maiden and looked at the snow in front of her, she smiled as well.

There, in the middle of the circle of white, was an almost perfect snow angel, with a staff in one hand and two footprints at the bottom.

The Maiden laughed and shook the snowflakes from her clothes. "I love to make snow angels. They look so beautiful."

The Templar Assassin looked at her and her mouth moved before she could stop herself. "You are beautiful."

Her smile vanished and she looked at Lanaya with round eyes. Then she blushed, a faint pink colouring her cheeks, the smile that appeared on her face almost shy. "Thank you."

And for the tiniest moment, the time stood still. The connection between them grew stronger and Lanaya felt the joy, the happiness and the delight the Maiden was feeling.

When it was gone, it left the Assassin reeling. It had been so very strong, she had never known that something like that could exist. From the shock on the Maiden's face, she had felt something, too, and Lanaya wondered what she had been feeling. The connection definitely wasn't one-sided.

All around them the battle was still going, soldiers fighting everywhere, buildings collapsing, the sounds and the smells of war strong. But the two women just kept staring at each other, both confused by what was happening between them.

The connection wasn't what unnerved the Templar Assassin most. Not even that the other woman knew what she was feeling. The real problem was that she didn't mind about all that. She didn't mind that the Crystal Maiden knew her feelings and she definitely didn't mind that the ice woman always knew where she was. She had never let someone into her life like that, even from her tutor she had remained aloof, and not because he had wanted. And suddenly, when there was someone so very near, physically and mentally, she simply didn't mind. She even wanted to improve her skills to be able to protect her better. She wanted to stay with her. And, if she had to be true, she wanted to know more about her and she wanted the Crystal Maiden to like her.

In all her life she had never ever cared what others thought about her but now, now she wanted to please. She wanted to appeal to someone. And it was almost frightening.

The heart of the enemy town fell without the two women attacking it once. The small earthquake, caused by its destruction, brought them back to the here and now.

They had won.


	7. Chapter 7

The Templar Assassin felt only relief that the war was over. That, finally, she didn't have to worry about the Crystal Maiden dying anymore.

The Juggernaut joined them. "Ready for the next war?" The Crystal Maiden grimaced. "Can't we take a break? I don't want to go to the next town war immediately." The man shook his head and the Maiden sighed.

"It is too risky. This is the only way to keep you one hundred percent safe. And I won't take any chances. You can rest here for a bit but we will be kicked out of the town soon."

She rubbed over her face with one hand. "I know. But I'm sick of all this fighting all the time." She looked at Lanaya, then. "You going to join us again?"

"Me?" The Templar Assassin hadn't expected to be asked. She wasn't so sure she wanted to participate in another town war. She had this wish to find a way to use her abilities on others, especially on the Maiden, and she didn't want to waste any more time. But the ice woman didn't want to go to another town war, too, so what was this talk about keeping her safe? Was there a threat outside of the town wars?

Lanaya was in two minds weather to go with the Maiden or to find a way to expand her abilities. On one side she didn't want to leave her, no matter that the town wars were relatively safe. But on the other side she felt as if she had finally found a new goal, something other than these wars to live for.

The woman in front of her shrugged. "I do feel safer with you around. And if I have to go to another town war," she rolled her eyes, "then I would definitely like to have you by my side."

The Templar Assassin frowned. "If you don't want to go, then why do you?"

"Like Yurnero said, it is the safest place for me. And I have some very fierce protectors. They will drag me to a town war if they think it is the only way to keep me from harm."

"Why do they think this is the only way to keep you safe?"

The ice woman sighed. "We heard a rumour that the Anti-Mage is searching for me. I assume you heard about him?" Lanaya nodded. Of course she had heard about him, even though he was relatively young, he was known throughout the world, due to his ruthlessness and persistence.

"It is said that he never gives up when he has started to search for a mage. He finds everyone eventually and he kills us without mercy."

"So you decided to go to one town war after the other because he can't kill you here."

The Templar Assassin looked at the Crystal Maiden. She seemed tired, now that the war was over, and she wondered in how many wars in a row she had participated. The Assassin knew how hard it was to fight all the time and even she rested after four or five wars. It was a wonder that the Maiden was in such a good temper all the time. And Lanaya had suddenly way more respect for the small woman. Because to be the target of the Anti-Mage and still live like her, it was remarkable.

All of a sudden, the need to protect the Crystal Maiden kicked in, stronger than ever before. Lanaya wouldn't let her fight in another town war as long as she looked as tired as she did now. She didn't want to see her like that and she knew that it wasn't good for her. Of course the Anti-Mage couldn't kill her here but it was no life, always going from one town war to the other. Especially not for someone like the ice woman. She would take the Maiden with her, to the Hidden Temple, she decided. She could protect her and the temple was relatively secure as well.

And as soon as she had found a way to cast her abilities on the Crystal Maiden, as soon as she could make her invisible and give her the protection of Refraction to block incoming damage, the Anti-Mage would never be able to get her.

It seemed to be a good plan and so the Assassin addressed the Juggernaut. "She doesn't want to fight in another town war. She can come with me. I will protect her."

The man crossed his arms in front of his chest. His mask covered his face, making it impossible to read his emotions, but it was clear that he didn't like the idea. "I was assigned to protect her. I don't know you and I don't trust you. Go back to where you came from and stay out of my business. No place is safe as long as the Anti-Mage lives but the town wars. It isn't as if we haven't thought about another option, but there is none."

"There is always another option. And don't you think that the Crystal Maiden is able to make her own decisions?" With that she turned away from the Juggernaut, towards the woman. This moment, it would change her live from now on, of that she was sure. Until now it had only been the town wars, regardless of the connection between them. If she left, all would remain as it had been. Everything would be like it had been for the last centuries. But aside from the fact that it hadn't been that great, the Templar Assassin was sure that she would regret it for the rest of her life.

So she took a deep breath. She was a little afraid of what would happen next (which was as strange as everything that had happened since she had first met the Maiden). Then she raised one hand and pulled the mask down, revealing her nose and mouth. She felt more like a woman without the mask, and less like an assassin. And that was how she should face the Crystal Maiden: as a woman.

"I invite you to come with me to the Hidden Temple. I will protect you with everything I have and I will pledge my life to the studies of how to increase my power so none will ever be able to harm you." She tried to be calm but her heart was beating faster than normal. Would she take her offer? Would she come to the temple with her? The Templar Assassin, always cold and unfeeling, was holding her breath while waiting for an answer. She told herself that it didn't matter but she knew that it was a lie. She wanted the woman to come with her and she would be disappointed if she didn't.

The Crystal Maiden was silent for long moments, simply watching the Assassin. Lanaya could feel nothing through their connection that she could decipher and that only made her more nervous. Until the tiny woman stepped closer, a smile appearing on her face. "You really want me to come with you." It was no question and her voice sounded as if she was amazed by it. "Don't be afraid." She touched Lanaya's cheek with the tips of her fingers. "It will be my pleasure to come with you. I am honoured by your words, even more so since I can feel your emotions while you speak them."

A sudden calm spread through Lanaya. Followed by so many emotions that the Assassin had difficulty to decipher them all. There was definitely joy about the prospect of spending time with the Maiden. Then there was pride that the woman trusted her enough to put her life into Lanaya's hands. And only a little fear about how the connection between them might develop and how attached she might grow to this beautiful woman.

The emotions that she could sense from the Crystal Maiden were less confuse. There was mainly relief and anticipation.

The Juggernaut interrupted them. "I don't like this. I'm not sure you should go with her." He had his arms still crossed over his chest.

"It's okay, Yurnero. I promise I'll send a message to Kunkka and Medusa. I will be safe with her and I will be careful. I need a break."

"I still don't like it. But I think you are right, about the being safe part. I will travel a little and try to find out where the Anti-Mage is at the moment and if he is searching for you."

The Crystal Maiden hugged the man. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

Then he was gone and the Templar Assassin and the Crystal Maiden were the two last heroes standing in the town. Even the soldiers were all gone.

Lanaya held her hand out. „Come." She left her face uncovered.

Without hesitation the Maiden took her hand and they left the town war together.

They appeared on a platform in the real world. These platforms were the starting and returning points for the town wars and there were several throughout the world. This one was in a stone desert, everywhere nothing but stones, the wind strong and the temperatures rather low. The colours of the landscape changed from a light grey in the east to a dark red-brown in the west. The platform lay somewhere in-between, higher than the surrounding area. Except from the path that lead up to the platform, there was no way discernible that one could follow through this field of rocks.

The desert was huge, but only from north to south. The next town in the east wasn't that far away, though it was relatively small.

The Templar Assassin wouldn't go to this town or to any other. About an hour to the northwest she had built something like a house in a hollow, protected from direct sight and from the wind that was often extremely strong. It was camouflaged and surrounded by Psionic Traps on all sides and only the Assassin knew where to put her feet not to spring those traps. Absolutely nobody would be able to enter the house. Except this somebody could fly and even then there was no place to land.

In this house several books were stored, together with a few weapons that the Assassin needed for things like hunting. Because killing a creature that she wanted to eat later with Psionic Energy wasn't recommended.

Then there were some items that reminded her of her tutor or of her time in the Hidden Temple, sort of mementos. There was nothing of worth like gold, but it was the one place the Assassin went to when she wanted to be alone. She would read or hunt or just meditate. Her safe house.

And she used it to get to other places very fast. She had several stones, which could create portals to different places throughout the world. That way she was able to travel extremely fast from one end of the world to the other, or from one big town to the next. And the best about it was: nobody ever saw her travel, they only noticed that one never knew where she was or would be. It made them wary. Definitely something the Assassin liked to achieve.

She scanned her surroundings before she left the platform. The Crystal Maiden followed her. "Where are we going? Is the Hidden Temple here?"

"We are going to my place first. I will create a portal to get to the temple. It isn't easy to reach it by foot but since I lived there many years I was allowed to use a portal to come back."

"You live here?" She sounded astonished and Lanaya couldn't blame her. It wasn't the nicest of places, but it was extremely solitary. Just what she liked and needed.

"We have to walk a few miles, but yes, I live here."

The Maiden was now walking beside her and Lanaya could see her smiling out of the corner of her eyes. When the wind got stronger, she raised her hand to hold the hood of her cape, so it wouldn't be blown from her head. She didn't stop smiling, the wind not bothering her in the least. The temperatures didn't, either, but that wasn't unexpected, since she was the Crystal Maiden, and the cold wouldn't faze her.

They walked in silence, the Assassin not used to having company and therefore not knowing what to talk about. She was more watchful than usual and she was highly aware of the fact that she had never before shown someone where she lived when she wasn't abroad. The ice woman would be the only creature in the world who would know where to find her when she didn't want to be found.

It was a huge sign of trust but Lanaya didn't, not once, question her decision to show the Maiden her safe house. She would never betray her. And if she didn't want to walk to the Hidden Temple with her she didn't have much of a choice anyway.

After about half an hour the Crystal Maiden sighed. "Is it far, still? I am a little hungry. And tired."

"Another hour."

She sighed again. "Maybe we could chat so the time goes by faster? You could tell me something about yourself."

"I don't talk about myself."

"Not really unexpected. But you could tell me your name."

"My name?"

"Yes. You have a name, don't you? Your parents didn't name you 'the Templar Assassin'."

Of course they hadn't. She had become the Templar Assassin. The Maiden was looking at her, waiting for an answer. Lanaya was sure that answering one question would lead to more questions but at this point, what did it matter if the Maiden knew things about her nobody else did? That was already the case, a few more wouldn't make it any worse.

"My name is Lanaya."

"Lanaya." The Maiden repeated. It was strange to hear someone saying her name. She hadn't been called by it for a long time. "I'm Rylai."

Silence again. Then: "You been living alone for a long time, now?"

Lanaya simply nodded. The Crystal Maiden, Rylai, laughed. "Well, that wasn't hard to guess." She kept smiling. "I just hope you'll get used to having someone around. Because I'm not used to silence all the time. I like to talk and it is way more fun if the one I'm talking to drops a few words, too, from time to time."

Getting used to having someone around? No, definitely not. But getting used to having the Maiden around, that seemed not to be very hard. She liked when the ice woman talked, liked the sound of her voice, liked her laugh. And she liked how the connection between them made the emotions coming from the Maiden stronger. Or more pronounced.

"Why did you choose to live here?"

As she had predicted, answering one question led to more questions being asked. But the Templar Assassin found that she didn't mind. It wasn't as if the woman was asking them to get information she could use against her. She was just curious.

"Because of the solitude it offers."

"So you like to be alone?"

The Templar Assassin thought about it for a moment. She had never been asked if she chose her style of living because she liked it. At the beginning, she had been eager for knowledge, had wanted to learn as much as possible, as fast as possible. She had craved the quiet and the reclusion to be able to study. She had done so for many years and had not cared about her being alone. She hadn't been interested in anything else beside her books and had only talked to others to learn more, to learn things that weren't written down or for which she needed an explanation or demonstration.

When she had developed her Psionic Powers and had gone to Aiur, the destroyed planet, to hone her abilities, she still didn't have time for interactions with others. She had practiced all day and when her body was tired she had resumed her studies. And one day, when the only person she had talked to, her tutor, had died, she had simply stopped speaking to anyone. There was no one left who could teach her anything, so she didn't have to talk. She didn't need anyone around her.

As an Assassin, which she had become at one point due to her abilities, she couldn't have any friends and due to her lack of emotions, which she had somehow gained in the centuries of studying, she didn't miss having one. And until now she had never thought about it. She had never cared that she was alone, had only looked at it from the point of an assassin: if no one knew where your safe house was, no one could betray it. If no one knew anything about you, no one could betray you.

So now she shrugged. "I got used to being alone."

And she didn't know anything else. A few creatures had cared about her throughout her life but it had never been important for her. She had accepted it and not wasted any thoughts about it.

The smile on Rylai's face disappeared and she stared ahead. She seemed troubled by something, but even through the connection Lanaya couldn't decipher what it was. Should she ask her?

She didn't, but as they kept walking, Lanaya got more and more uncomfortable, first with how the Maiden frowned and second with the distress that she could feel coming from her.

"What is wrong?"

The ice woman hesitated. "I… don't you think you will be bugged out by me in no time?"

Lanaya frowned. "Why should I?"

"Well, you are used to being alone and I'm not the optimal company for someone who likes it quiet. I am extremely lively. And I hate it to be silent. You don't even like to answer my questions, I can't imagine that you'll like me talking all the time, then."

The Templar Assassin stopped. She would never have expected something like that from the Crystal Maiden, but it seemed that the woman was a little unsecure and maybe scared right now. But she was wrong.

"It's not that I don't like to answer your questions, it's just that I'm not used to talking. And I don't mind your talking at all. Your presence makes me relax, no matter how lively or chatty you are. And the way my awareness of you has grown I don't think that this will change anytime soon, if at all."

This had been the longest speech she had held in maybe a century but the Maiden brought out many things in Lanaya that she hadn't done before, feelings that she didn't have. But it didn't disturb her like at the beginning. When the Maiden smiled again, she cared even less, because her whole being enjoyed her smile so very much, enjoyed the happiness that she could feel through the connection. And who cared about so unimportant things as someone starting talking again after a century of speaking almost no word? Or about feeling things that were utterly new?

"Thank you." Rylai said. "This is all very strange for me. I see you and I feel what you do, but your face shows nothing and then I doubt those feelings. At the beginning I thought I imagined it because you didn't even acknowledge me, even when I thought you were feeling something for me. But you are just a perfect assassin, aren't you?"

Lanaya shrugged. Because, what was there to say?

She turned around, then, and resumed walking. She could feel that she had calmed the Crystal Maiden so she could as well go on. She stopped again when the Maiden laughed. "Oh, I see, I think I will have to get used to your silent manner. As long as you don't mind me not being silent I think I'll be able to manage." Her smile was bright and she looked even more breathtakingly beautiful in this dull landscape.

"I'm…" Lanaya hesitated. "I'm sorry."

But Rylai shook her head. „Don't be, silly. It is okay. I don't want for you to change who you are only to please me." A somewhat surprised look crossed her face. "I think I like you the way you are. It is strangely… calming."

The Templar Assassin blinked at this completely unexpected compliment. At least she thought it was a compliment. Of sorts. She stared at the Crystal Maiden, not knowing what to say. The woman smiled again. "Let's get going. I'm curious about how you live."


	8. Chapter 8

They went on, side by side. And now the Maiden began to talk. It seemed she had really felt insecure before and now that Lanaya had reassured her she was her good-humoured and cheerful self again.

"This stone desert reminds me a bit of my home. The only thing that's missing is the snow. But the wind and the silence all around, it's just the same. Is it always this cold here?" She asked the question but kept talking without waiting for an answer. And Lanaya smiled. Because she really relaxed while Rylai was talking. She listened to everything she said, picturing her in her home, creating images of the things she talked about in her head. The Assassin had never been in this much snow and when a thought struck her, she voiced it, interrupting the ice woman mid-sentence.

"Will you take me with you someday?"

"Of course! I'd love to! It is lonely there sometimes, though many of my friends visit me as often as they can. I haven't been there for some time now, because as soon as Kunkka, the Admiral Proudmoore, I'm sure you have heard about him, heard that the Anti-Mage was looking for me, we kind of evacuated me. Since then I am travelling a lot and participating in town wars even more. Oh, and thanks by the way that you convinced Yurnero to let me come with you. He can be quite protective."

The Templar Assassin had met the Anti-Mage once, before. She had nothing to fear from him, because her Psionic Powers were not really magic. And it was good that way because though she was sure that she could protect the Crystal Maiden from him, at least long enough for her to get away, she wasn't sure that she could actually defeat him. "He is right to be protective, as are your other friends. The Anti-Mage is a fearsome enemy."

"I know." She sighed and rubbed her eyes with one hand. "But it is hard to hide all the time, to stay away from my home and to be so very careful."

The sadness was strong through the connection. It compelled the Assassin to step closer. With one finger she tipped her chin upwards a little, so the Maiden was looking into her eyes. "I promise you I'll find a way to keep you safe, a way where you can return to your home and stay there. I'm your protector and I intend to do just that, without stifling or caging you. I can feel your sadness and it is not tolerable for me to let you live like that."

"Oh my god." The Crystal Maiden breathed. "That is so wonderful." Her eyes were huge in her delicate face as she stared at the Assassin. There was wonder and hope and something else that Lanaya couldn't place. She let her hand drop and took a step back. She thought the connection between them was still getting stronger and for a second it unsettled her again.

The ice woman was still staring when Lanaya turned away. At this rate they would never get to her place. Not that they were in a hurry, but Rylai had said she was hungry and tired.

But the rest of the way went without further interruptions. The Maiden was silent again but it was no sad silence. It was more like she was deep in thought and Lanaya let her, though, if she had to be true, she would have liked for her to talk some more.

Before they got to the field of traps around the house, Lanaya stopped one more time. "You have to walk behind me now and only step where I put my feet. Don't stray, because there are traps all around us in a few minutes."

Rylai nodded and stood behind her. The house wasn't in sight, yet, but it wouldn't take them long now. Not that the house was really visible even when it was in sight. It was camouflaged and almost not recognizable until one was standing in front of it. The Templar Assassin was very proud of this fact. It had taken her long enough to construct this place in a way that wouldn't immediately attract attention. She didn't want anyone to know that there was a house in this stone desert after all.

And up to now there had never been an enemy around. The Crystal Maiden would be more than safe here but it would not do for long. It was too much in solitude and, as the woman had said, she liked to have guest. Lanaya would never allow anyone to know about this place, not even for Rylai. It was a secret and it had to remain that way. An assassin needed some kind of sanctuary, a safe place to stay. Besides, it was way too small for two to stay. And she didn't have anything to spend time with but for books. Even if the Maiden liked to read, those books were surely not her choice of reading material. It would be too much like a cage to be an option for living in for the Crystal Maiden.

They would use the house as a temporary safe place for them both but they wouldn't stay long.

The first trap, outlined with thin, pink lines, appeared on the ground. Those lines were only visible to the Templar Assassin, but even without them she would have known by heart were to set her feet. In the town wars, the traps were visible to all allies and could not be sprung by them stepping on one.

Here, in this world, she had made sure that only she could ever see them and that they would be sprung by all creatures, even herself. It was a safety measure. Now she had to find a way to make them visible for the Maiden, too, so she could enter this place without the Assassin, when she wanted to. But that could wait.

They passed the first trap, the ground a little sloping under their feet, and more traps were there, now all around them. It was a field of pink lines, glowing ever so softly. It was a beautiful sight, especially by night. The pink light originated from the Psionic Energy in the traps, which made them extremely dangerous. They were impossible to disable and they would last forever, as long as they were not sprung.

Lanaya reduced her tempo so the Crystal Maiden could follow her without difficulty. She could already see the rock that masked her house. For anyone else it would look just like any big formation of rocks that was lying around in this desert. But it only looked that way. Actually, it wasn't even made from stone, just resembled them. She had woven some Psionic Energy into it to make it more durable. The energy wasn't as strong as in the traps or the whole house would glow pink, too, and that would attract way too much attention. So it was only a small amount of Psionic Energy, just enough to achieve what she wanted without making it obvious from the outside.

When she stopped in front of the house on a small square without any traps, Rylai looked over Lanaya's shoulder without leaving her place behind the Assassin.

"Wow, that's a big rock you have there."

Without commenting, Lanaya pressed a spot on the wall and a door opened. It swung inwards soundlessly and simultaneously the light inside went on. She could hear a small gasp behind her and the woman placed a hand on her shoulder. She was standing on tiptoes, probably, to be even able to see past Lanaya, and needed something to hold on to, to get a better stance. She was extremely close and though the Assassin could feel almost nothing of her hand through her shoulder armour, she could feel the rest of her body through the rather thin leather clothing at her back. The brush of her body as she leaned forward.

She only lingered a second longer than necessary with the Maiden this close to her, before stepping into the house. She closed the door behind them, so it would be invisible from the outside again.

The Crystal Maiden stood in the middle of the room, looking at everything around her. She smiled at Lanaya. "I have to say, I didn't expect something like that. It is nice."

Maybe it was nice. This first room had two shelves of books, a huge desk with all the travelling devices, or portal stones, lined up and lots of papers strewn over it, a corner with two armchairs for reading (it were two because she liked to put her feet up while sitting in a chair, reading) and a weapons rack. It was all very neat, except for the papers on the desk. Lanaya had used wood to build the house so it was all in shades of brown and the light made it appear warm and comfortable.

"Come", she said and walked through one of two doors. There was a small bedroom with only a narrow bed and a wardrobe and next to it a bath (yes, the Assassin even had a bath tub because she loved to relax in the warm water from time to time). The second door led to a kitchen and a store room for food and water. This was a desert after all and water had to be bought and stored because otherwise there would be none. Lucky for her, she could bring the water with her when she ported and her Psionic Powers helped her carry the giant barrels.

Lanaya showed Rylai around. When they were standing in the store room, she asked her what she would like to eat. There wasn't anything fresh, but different kinds of dried fruit, meat, nuts and other things that could be made durable. She would port to an inn, where she always bought food, so she could cook something later. For now the Maiden took all she wanted and together they headed back into the first room, which was kind of the living room. They sat in the armchairs and ate.

Afterwards Rylai curled up on the armchair, which was big enough that she could lie with her knees pulled against her body, using the arm rest as pillow. She sighed and smiled a little, her eyes closing. Her staff was lying on the ground next to her, her cloak was draped over the back of the chair. She looked relaxed and content. And even before Lanaya could suggest she go to bed, she was asleep, the ghost of a smile still on her lips.

The Templar Assassin stared at her. She could do so now without anyone catching her staring and so she did, taking every detail in. Rylai was so very beautiful, her blond hair falling around her small face. Her features were delicate, cute little nose, big eyes framed with long blond lashes and finely curved brows, which were darker than her hair. Her lips weren't red but more rose coloured, matching her extremely light skin colour. Despite her being the Crystal Maiden, the queen of ice and snow, she looked very soft, somehow in sharp contrast the ice she could cast.

Lanaya looked at her for a long time before she decided to do as Rylai had done and curled up on her armchair. She was used to sleeping in them when she had fallen asleep while reading, so it wasn't unusual for her not to go to bed. And besides, she would never take the bed while the Maiden was sleeping on a chair, no matter how comfortable the chair was. She just took her shoulder armour off and then she closed her eyes. She fell asleep almost immediately.

It was a habit of hers, sleeping as fast as possible to use every minute, so no time was wasted that she could have used for studying or doing one of her jobs as assassin. Though she normally never slept when someone was around, her body simply refused to do so, she wasn't really surprised that the presence of the Crystal Maiden was no problem. Through the connection she could feel that the ice woman was sound asleep, which calmed the Assassin. It was the most restful sleep she had had in a while.

She woke to the sound of light footsteps on the wooden floor of her house. Slowly she opened her eyes and saw the Crystal Maiden in front of one of her shelves, scanning the titles of the books strung along. Lanaya could see her face, the tiny frown as she read. And the grimace when she stumbled upon one of the stranger titles, though it could as well be the size of the book in front of her.

The Templar Assassin smiled and kept watching without moving so Rylai wouldn't realize that she was awake. Without the cape, which was still hanging on the armchair, nothing was in her way as she let her gaze travel over her gorgeous body. Her clothes were tight fitting, bringing her curves out perfectly. She had such a tiny waist but full breasts and a perfectly rounded ass. Lanaya would love to feel her under her hands. It would be such a pleasure.

The frown on Rylai's face faded and she turned around, smiling at the Assassin. "You do know that I can feel that you are awake? And that I know what you are thinking about?" She had her brows raised now, her smile a tad mocking.

This time when Lanaya blushed she was sure that it was discernible. She returned the smile but still didn't move. It was one thing to find the ice woman attractive but it was a completely other thing to act on it. Because Lanaya was sure that it would complete the connection between them. And as content as she had grown with this connection, she wasn't sure if she wanted to strengthen it on purpose.

When she got no reply the Maiden resumed scanning the books.

Lanaya got up and prepared breakfast. It had to be morning, though it was always hard to judge because of the missing windows in the house. Not that it mattered much to the Assassin. She ate when she was hungry and slept when she was tired. When she took a job it didn't matter either, because she could kill as good in the night as at day. And for the town wars it didn't matter either. So she had no use for shaping her life into a day and night rhythm.

She suspected the Crystal Maiden did that. She seemed to be someone who liked the light of the day more than the dark of the night. So the Assassin would be considerate of that fact. It would be no hardship to plan their daily routine according to the rise and setting of the sun. It had simply been not necessary before.

And so, without thinking twice about it, the Templar Assassin did the first step in adapting her style of life to that of the Crystal Maiden.

When she came back with the food in her hands, Rylai grinned. "Thank you. My stomach was already growling but I wasn't sure if you would appreciate me rummaging through your food to find something to eat."

Lanaya stopped. "You live with me now. You can as well feel at home here." She thought for a moment. "I would appreciate it, though, if you refrained from taking anything from the table."

"Oh, okay. Thank you." A bright smile.

The Assassin nodded. "You're welcome."

While they were eating, the Maiden talked. She asked a few questions about the books in the shelf, which Lanaya answered. She did so with few words and sometimes only a nod or shake of her head. But it seemed to be enough for Rylai because she kept talking and asking. She told about the library in her home and about the books she liked to read, about how she had required some of them and about the three biggest libraries she had been to.

The Templar Assassin leaned back in her chair and watched the beautiful woman in front of her as she kept talking. It was fascinating to listen to her because she saw everything she had experienced in her life from the positive side. Everything resulted in something good sooner or later and it was a strange and unfamiliar but, funnily enough, a very welcome view on life.

Suddenly Rylai stopped. She looked at Lanaya from under her lashes, a faint blush on her cheeks. "You are staring at me again."

"I find you very fascinating. I've never met someone like you."

The ice woman laughed. "Thanks, I suppose."

They smiled at each other for a few seconds before Lanaya stood up. "You want to take a bath before we go to the hidden temple?"

"Oh, that would be awesome! I feel kind of filthy after all this town wars." She wrinkled her nose and plucked at her clothes. "Can we wash those, too?"

"Of course. I'll do that while you are in the tub. Come, I'll show you where everything is so you can make a bath for yourself when you are ever here." That comment earned her a look with raised brows from the ice woman, but she said nothing as she followed her. Lanaya knew why she had looked at her like that. The Assassin didn't act as if she had simply taken Rylai under her protection. She acted as if they were living together and as if they would stay together for a while. She felt a little confusion through their connection but she knew that the Maiden was also very pleased by her behaviour. The Assassin did act differently since they had left the town war but it just seemed so right. Even the smiling and answering of all those questions. As long as they had been in the wars she had tried to block the Crystal Maiden out but now she had stopped to do that and so she instinctively adapted her behaviour.

It took a while to heat enough water for a bath. And Lanaya thought it would take even longer if the Maiden had to do it alone, because the Assassin's Psionic Powers made some of the things easier and faster. But since there wasn't much to do in this house one could spend a day with preparing a bath and taking it.

The Crystal Maiden looked at the steaming bath tub and then at Lanaya. "I'll put the clothes in front of the door. Do you have something for me to wear later?"

That could pose a problem. Lanaya had only assassin clothes. But the ice woman was close enough to her figure to probably fit into them. She nodded. She would find something, though it would definitely be something Rylai would not wear if she had a choice. She left the Maiden and started to rummage through her clothes. She found pants that were not too tight but her tops were all the same style.

She switched the clothes in front of the door and washed Rylai's. Then she took one of her books and started reading. They wouldn't leave today and since they weren't in a hurry it didn't matter. This house was one of the safest places in the world for the Crystal Maiden so they could linger as long as they wanted and as long as Rylai wasn't bored out of her mind. Lanaya would use the time to put her desk in order, check on all her teleportation devices and start finding information about using her Psionic Powers on others. Since it had never held any interest for her before it could be that there was something in one of her books and she had skipped the passage.


	9. Chapter 9

Lanaya was completely lost in her book and it took some time for her to realize that Rylai was standing in the door. The feeling of uncertainty, so different from the contentment before, coming through their connection was what made her look up. And her mouth dropped open.

She was gorgeous. The clothes were a tad too long, the pants dragging on the floor, naked toes poking out, the top long but very tight. It pushed her breasts even more than her own top did, making them look absolutely perfect. The black made Rylai's skin appear even lighter, almost white in contrast. Her blond hair was still a tad wet, tumbling over her shoulders in dishevelled waves. It was a mix of cute as a button and sexy as hell and Lanaya could only stare, her eyes wandering over every inch of her body several times.

Rylai blushed but the uncertainty vanished as she stepped into the room. Instead she smiled again and plopped down in the other armchair.

"That was wonderful. I haven't felt that good for a while now. Thank you."

Lanaya nodded. "You are welcome."

"So, what do you normally do while you are here?"

"I read and train to improve my skills."

"Really? That's all? Doesn't it get boring?" After a few seconds, in whom Lanaya only frowned, she continued. "I get really cranky if I'm not able to do different things every few days."

And that, the Templar Assassin thought, could pose a problem when they were in the Hidden Temple. Because there, every day was exactly the same as the one before. Maybe she should think about something they could do other than reading and training. But she had never done anything else, there, and she didn't know what there was to do.

"What do you do?"

The Crystal Maiden grinned. "I'm totally impressed. You just asked me to tell you something, as if you are interested. Okay, what I do… I meet people. I like all sorts of games, card games, board games but also competitions as long as it's fun. I love snow of course, and everything one can do in snow. And I have a knack for animals. I frequently redecorate my home and before this Anti-Mage thing I liked to visit all kinds of places. I love to build a snowman in the desert or transform a patch of trees into a forest of ice. It is so cool to have winter for a short time in places where it is never cold. Well, to summarize it: I like to have fun. If possible with someone together, since it is boring to do everything alone."

The Templar Assassin stared at Rylai. Those were all thing she had never done in her whole life. All of them. She had fun sometimes but it always involved either killing or learning something new from her books or from someone superior, and the last two things hadn't happened for a long time now. Which left the killing and she suspected that it didn't really count, at least not in the eyes of the Maiden. And it surely was not the kind of fun she meant.

Her life would change drastically with the Maiden involved. But, strange enough, Lanaya was almost looking forward to it. Maybe it was time for a little change. She had been floating around with no purpose for way too long and all those town wars had not really been satisfying. Now she had a goal again and if keeping the Crystal Maiden safe meant she had to adapt her way of living a little to make the ice woman happy, she would do so gladly. Because somehow the 'making Rylai happy' was connected to the keeping her safe. Of course she could do one without the other but it would be as if she only did half of her task.

Rylai sighed and closed her eyes. „But right now I'm totally happy to just sit here. All this town wars have been exhausting and I don't want to do anything right now." She opened her eyes again. "You don't have a book around here that I could read? Something were not already the title is so confusing that I don't understand a word? A romance per chance?"

Of course she liked romantic books, who would have guessed? Lanaya found them boring, predictable and unrealistic so she didn't read them. And one couldn't learn anything from reading them.

"I have to get a few items from a shop anyway, I can see if I find something that is to your liking when I'm there."

"Oh, that would be really nice of you."

That said, the Templar Assassin took one of the teleportation devices from her desk, one that would take her to a bigger town where she had the chance to get a book in one of the shops. She tugged her Hearth Stone in a pocket to get back home. Then she put her shoulder armour back on as well as her mask and with a short nod to the Maiden, she ported out.

She bought the things she needed quickly and then she went to the book store. She would have known where the section for books about energy, physics and all kinds of sciences were. But where did she find romances? And when she had found them, how did she know which were good? Because she didn't want to get Rylai any crap. She stood in the store and scanned the shelves. There were no signs what section was where and the shop assistants gave her the same frightened look as the costumers. They made no move to help her, maybe they even moved away from her in case she would speak to one of them.

That meant she had to find what she was looking for on her own. Lanaya walked through the store and read the titles of the books around her. And sure enough, when she read things like 'All for You', 'Mine to Possess', 'A Kiss for Midwinter', 'Wild and Steamy' or 'Tonight and Always' she knew she was right. Now the question remained: which one to take. She stared at the shelf in front of her and felt completely out of her element and a little overstrained by her task.

One of the shop assistants seemed to have taken pity on her or maybe he had just drawn the short straw. In any case he walked towards her, stopping in a (in his opinion) safe distance. "My lady, may I help you? Are you looking for something specific?"

His voice was only wavering a little and he tried to look confident. Lanaya didn't care if others were afraid of her, the only benefit it brought was that she was left alone wherever she was. She had seen enough men groping at women to know that their fear prevented them from doing something similar with her.

"I'm looking for a romance."

The man blinked. "Of course. A romance. What kind of romance do you prefer?"

"There are different kinds?" This thing was getting more complicated by the moment.

"Ahem, yes. There are romances with only one species, interspecies, fictional, futuristic, male-male, female-female, erotic, whatever you wish."

The Templar Assassin thought for a moment. But it wasn't really that hard a decision. "Interspecies, but with human or human-like creatures, and female-female. It can be a little erotic, the rest doesn't matter. I'm sure you can recommend something."

The shop assistant nodded. "If you would follow me." They went to a different part of the store. The man took a few books out of the shelf and showed them to Lanaya. He explained what the books were about with a few words but it was all the same for the Assassin. She was wondering how there could be so many books with love stories. They involved two creatures, they fell in love, they encountered some kind of hardship or adventure to make it a little exciting and in the end they got each other and lived happily ever-after. And there were millions of books covering these simple actions?

Since she could by no means decide which book was the best she just took all five books the shop assistant had shown her. The man had loosened up a bit and when she had paid for them he even smiled a little as he said 'good bye'.

The Templar Assassin left the shop without another word, took everything she had bought and used her Hearth Stone to teleport directly into her living room.

The Crystal Maiden looked up from the book she was skimming through. When she saw the Assassin she smiled. "Hey, you're back again."

Lanaya just nodded and went to put everything away. The last things were the books. She headed back to the Maiden, stopped in front of her and held them out to the woman.

Rylai's gaze followed every move she made and her smile grew when she saw the books in her hands. "You really got a book for me? Oh, let me see!"

She took them, excitement evident in her whole posture. "Wow, so cool!" she exclaimed as she looked through them, reading the titles. "Those are awesome!" She stood up and hugged the Assassin.

This time Lanaya smiled at the hug and even slung one arm around her waist to hug her back. She took a deep breath and enjoyed the physical contact for a moment. The Crystal Maiden felt nice and she smelled nice, too. And the strangest thing was: it felt as if she belonged into Lanaya's arms. It felt perfect.

Through their connection she could feel Rylai's happiness and excitement about the books. Or, maybe, about the fact that the Assassin had bought them for her. It was a wonderful feeling and Lanaya had the sudden urge to buy her more things so she could fell that happiness again and again.

They parted, Rylai still smiling over her whole face. "Thank you very much." She took the first book, sat down in the armchair and started reading immediately.

"You are welcome", the Assassin said, which earned her another bright smile. Then, before she took her own book again, she walked one round through the field of Psionic Traps around her house to check on them and see if someone or something had made the mistake of wanting to cross said field. They were undisturbed and everything was just as it had been before her absence. She was extremely neat, checking every trap twice while observing the sky as well as the landscape around her for anything conspicuous. She had the Crystal Maiden to protect and she took this job very seriously. Nothing would harm the woman while she was under her watch. The Assassin would do everything to keep her safe, and everything from an assassin was very much.

Satisfied that all was as it should be, she returned to the house.

Rylai was still reading, her legs tugged under her body, her hair falling over her shoulder and a tiny frown on her face. Her features were so very expressive, the absolute contrast to Lanaya. And the expressions on her face matched the emotions coming through their connection perfectly. The Templar Assassin had met many creatures during her life that smiled when they were not happy or were polite when they were angry so she found the honesty of her expressions refreshing.

Lanaya started reading herself, going through the first book without finding anything that even hinted at how to use her Psionic Energy on others. She took the second book, the third and even the forth one, but she found nothing. It seemed that creatures who were able to use Psionic Energies never wanted to use them to protect others. It was not totally unexpected, since most of them became some kind of assassin and what assassin wanted to protect? They only ever wanted to kill, using their powers to shield themselves but not others.

With a sigh she looked up. And found the armchair in front of her empty. She could feel Rylai through the bond, knew that everything was alright and that she was near. So she simply stood up and tried to locate the woman. It was extremely easy, not only because the house was relatively small. The connection was precise.

She found her looking through their eating supplies. "You don't have something sweet, per chance? The best would be chocolate but I would take something like dried and sugared fruit as well." Rylai straightened and frowned at the shelves in front of her, hands on her hips.

"No. I don't eat things like that."

"Wow, why does that not surprise me?" She wrinkled her nose and took something else from the shelf. "I think I'll survive. Not as if there is chocolate in the town wars, so I'm kind of used not to have any by now."

The Templar Assassin was not sure if the Maiden was actually angry about the lack of chocolate but through the connection she could feel no anger. Maybe something like irritation but that was all. At least she made it awfully easy to know what to buy her to make her happy. From her next trip into town, which would definitely be on the next day, regardless of the fact that Lanaya needed nothing, she would bring chocolate. And maybe some other sweets as well. At the moment she could do nothing because her Hearth Stone wasn't ready again and without it she couldn't teleport back. That was too dangerous and she never left her house when she couldn't come back within seconds due to the use of the stone.

The next day passed like the first one. They both read much, Lanaya desperate to find anything that gave her even the smallest hint how to expand her powers. She bought sweets for Rylai and was rewarded with another hug. When her clothes were dry again she changed back into the blue top but left the black pants on. "They are really comfortable." She said at Lanaya's glance.

On the third day, when the Maiden had finished her second book and the Assassin could feel that she was getting restless, she prepared everything for them to go to the Hidden Temple. She took nothing with her but Rylai had a small backpack with her new books and lots of chocolate in her hand. She had put her things on, though the Assassin suspected that she had tugged the pants in the backpack as well. Could be this belonged to the 'feeling at home' part. Lanaya didn't care, maybe she was even pleased that the woman wore her clothes and liked them. She felt something like satisfaction when she saw her in the Templar Assassin black and pink.

Rylai slung the backpack over her shoulder and took Lanaya's hand. That wasn't really necessary when they used the portal but the Assassin didn't even think about telling her that. It was nice to hold hands like that and she smiled at the ice woman. Then she tugged her mask over her mouth, which she had only done when she had been leaving the house for the last three days, and nose and together they stepped through the portal. It was a direct passage into the Temple, created by some kind of magic, and their feet hit the floor of the temple on the other side of the portal. It was like a door, only that one couldn't see what was on the other side.

It made Lanaya a little weary because she could use her invisibility but Rylai didn't have something like that to protect herself. It was extremely unlikely that there would be a threat at the Hidden Temple and that was the only reason why they went side by side through the portal instead of the Assassin first.

They appeared in a huge hall that was completely empty. The Templar Assassin closed the portal behind them and then she took a look around. This was kind of the reception hall but there was seldom someone here.

Still holding hands, Rylai followed when the Assassin began to walk in the direction she knew she would find the master of the temple. She had been here a long time and though she hadn't roamed the place she knew at least the most important ways and rooms. Like the library.

The ice woman looked around, trying to see everything. The temple was rather imposing, with extremely high ceilings and huge statues of the different gods. They were depicted with the things they stood for and some were definitely intimidating. Lanaya had never before really seen them but with the Maiden slowing her down because she took her time to take everything in, she now looked at them, too.

She knew all the gods by name, from her studies. And so she told Rylai. She even told her what they all stood for, what their powers were and what the most famous story about each of them was. And so, for the first time in her whole life, she talked, really talked, while the Crystal Maiden was listening, a small smile appearing on her face sometime. It took them almost an hour to reach the office of the master of the temple and by then the connection between her and the Maiden was thrumming with energy, having grown stronger constantly.

They only came across a handful of monks on their way and they ignored them. They had ignored her all those years she had been studying here, though she had met some of them several times a day.

In front of a door, the Templar Assassin stopped. She squeezed Rylai's hand and knocked.

A deep voice requested they enter. The master of the temple was an imposing appearance. He was a Tauren, big and with the head of an ox with long horns that were extremely sharp. He was heavily muscles, though those muscles were hidden under the grey robe he was wearing. His hands had only two fingers and a thumb and were easily as big as Lanaya's whole head, could probably grab her on the head and lift her in the air with one arm. His fur was a dark brown, almost black, and he had his sideburns braided into two plaits.

He looked up from the papers in front of him and a smile spread across his face. The Templar Assassin knew that it was a smile but she could feel uneasiness through the bond and Rylai stepped closer to her, their bodies now touching from hip to shoulder. He looked fearsome at first glance but when someone looked into his eyes, they could see all the kindness and gentleness the master stood for in his brown eyes.

The Templar Assassin bowed deeply. "Master."

"Hello little one." His voice was so deep, it vibrated faintly through Lanaya's body and she could feel the Maiden at her side shiver. "You came back. How was your trip to Aiur? Has it been as successful as you hoped? And I see you have brought a guest with you. Hello to you, too, little ice mage."

"It was extremely successful, but the planet was destroyed and there is still more I wish to learn. This is Rylai, the Crystal Maiden. She is under my protection and so I hope you will allow her to stay with me here." The Tauren was one of the very few creatures in the world the Assassin trusted. She had known him for almost all her life and though she would kill many for calling her 'little one', she didn't care with him.

"The Crystal Maiden. You are both very welcome to stay in the Hidden Temple. You room is still empty, little one, if it isn't too small for you both you can stay there. May I ask what the threat to the Queen of Ice is because of which you took her under your protection?"

"Of course. The Anti-Mage, I'm sure you have heard about him, seems to have chosen her as one of his targets."

The Tauren leaned back in his chair. "Yes, I know the Anti-Mage. And I can promise you that you are safe within these walls. Do you need anything else?"

"No. I assume nothing has changed since I was here last." She bowed again. "I thank you very much, master."

"I know you are not very fond of social interactions, but would you mind having a private meal with me later where you tell me what you learned on your journey?"

Lanaya thought about it for a moment, but it was only just to tell the master of the Hidden Temple what Aiur had had to offer in the matter of knowledge. So she nodded. "It would be my pleasure."

She felt a flutter through the connection to the Crystal Maiden and squeezed her hand to reassure her.

The smile on the Tauren's face turned to a grin, showing his sharp teeth. "Then I'll see you later." He nodded to the Maiden. "Crystal Maiden."

They were kind of dismissed and they left to room. As soon as the door closed behind them, Rylai took a deep breath.

"Damn, he is scary." She shuddered.

"Don't worry, he is one of the kindest creatures I know. I have never seen him hurt anyone or even heard him raise his voice."

The Crystal Maiden scrunched her nose. "That's reassuring but he's still scary."

The Templar Assassin tugged on her hand to guide her down a corridor to the room that was hers. It wasn't very big and she would have to sleep on the floor but she wouldn't let Rylai sleep in another room. She wanted her as near as possible.


	10. Chapter 10

Lanaya's room was almost empty, only a bed and a small table with a chair, tugged in one corner, and a lamp on that table, which glowed softly. Nothing else. The bed was small and Lanaya knew that it was hard and uncomfortable, so sleeping on the floor would make hardly any difference.

Rylai stopped in the door, then she laughed. "That's how I envisioned the home of the Templar Assassin. This is your room?" She shook her head, still laughing. "I wish I could make a picture of that. It fits every prejudice about an assassin to the core. Nothing but for a hard bed and a desk. The only thing that's missing is the weapons rack but since you don't need them, it is even more fitting."

"You do know that this is a temple? All rooms look like this one." Lanaya looked at the ice woman with raised brows.

"Yeah, and it is absolutely impossible to make it more cosy and personal… You have been living here for a long time and you didn't even put a picture on the wall? Or bring a pillow?" She was still smiling, her eyes sparkling in the dim light of the lamp.

To be true, Lanaya had never thought about things like that. She didn't care how her room looked like and she didn't really need comfort. She was always so focused on the things she could learn that she was simply completely indifferent about how her room looked. She was indifferent about most things.

And then the sudden thought struck her, that the Crystal Maiden might not like that about her. She wasn't indifferent, she seemed to care about things Lanaya didn't even register, like the butterflies in the forest in the town war. Maybe she would realize that she didn't want to be this close to someone who was so unfeeling, especially in contrast to herself. Someone who was so callous.

All at once this light conversation had rooted Lanaya to the spot, waking the fear in her that Rylai would want to leave her one day. Not that they had any kind of commitment but the connection between them was so very strong and the Assassin had grown used to the presence of the Maiden, had begun to like having her near.

Somehow the ice woman had brought a purpose back into her life and had, simply with her presence, made her life enjoyable again.

The thought of being alone again, of being without Rylai again, was horrifying and the Assassin found it suddenly hard to breathe at the thought of this happening.

Thy Crystal Maiden stopped smiling, a tiny frown creasing the skin between her brows. She stepped in front of the Assassin. "Lanaya. What's the matter? Did I say something wrong?"

Lanaya looked at her, looked into her blue eyes, and couldn't answer. The fear had paralyzed her.

The frown deepened and Rylai, putting her magic staff against the wall, raised her hands, tugging the mask, which covered the Assassin's mouth and nose, down. She framed Lanaya's face with both hands, not once breaking their eye contact. Her thumbs began to stroke over her cheeks slowly and she asked again. "What is wrong? Please tell me."

Her voice was soft and her touch tender, calming the Templar Assassin. She took a deep breath, her heartbeat still too hard but the panic diminished, albeit slowly. The words she was finally able to utter were: "Don't leave me."

Rylai seemed confused. "Of course I won't. Why would I leave you?" But the Assassin shook her head. "Promise me."

Very serious the Maiden pulled her face a little closer. "I promise that I won't leave you." Through the connection she felt the truth behind what she said, felt the intent of the woman to keep her word.

They stood like that for long minutes, staring into each other's eyes, until the Templar Assassin could breathe normal again, until she felt stable enough to take a step backwards. The Crystal Maiden removed her hands. And Lanaya broke the eye contact. She felt a little embarrassed about her breakdown. That had never happened to her before. She was always controlled and emotionless. Maybe she wasn't used to all this emotions that came from the connection with the Maiden. She would have liked to busy herself with something but the room was empty. She couldn't hide from Rylai, who was still watching her, her gaze intent. She was waiting, waiting for an answer or an explanation from Lanaya.

The Templar Assassin didn't want to talk about it, didn't want to tell her why she had had something close to a panic attack without an evident reason. She didn't like to talk about herself and even less about her feelings. Or about anybody's feelings.

It seemed the Maiden wouldn't budge, though.

So she looked at her again. "I had the sudden thought that you might want to leave me one day because I am so indifferent. It is so much in contrast to you that I thought you might tire of it. Of me."

"Oh, Lanaya." Rylai came closer again, so close their bodies were almost touching. "First, you were like that from the beginning, when we first met, so I know what I was getting when I agreed to come with you. And second, you are not indifferent towards me, as your fear about me leaving you a few minutes ago shows, and that is the only thing that matters. Just like I said before, I don't want you any different."

The woman was very close and suddenly her gaze dipped, wandering from Lanaya's eyes to her mouth. The connection between them began to sizzle, and the Templar Assassin stared at the ice woman. Something changed. Rylai shifted even closer, and when she looked up again, her eyes were half lidded. Her tongue flicked out, licking over her lips and she raised her chin ever so slightly.

Lanaya's heartbeat accelerated. There was only this tiny gap between them, almost not existent, and Rylai was strikingly beautiful. And before she knew what she was doing, she leaned down, brushing her lips against Rylai's. How she had wanted to do that, to taste her, to feel her.

As an answer, their connection pulsated.

The Crystal Maiden sighed and leaned against her, her hands on the Assassin's shoulders, pulling herself closer. The next touch of their lips was a real kiss and when the Maiden licked over Lanaya's bottom lip she followed the unspoken request and deepened the kiss. She lost herself to the woman in her arms, forgetting everything around them, simply revelling in the pleasurable sensation that came from holding her, kissing her, touching her. Rylai felt wonderful and their connection was thrumming with energy now, heightening the experience with every caress, with every brush of their tongues against each other.

Their emotions were merging with those of the other until the Templar Assassin felt as if they were one person. One person filled with so many different emotions that she couldn't decipher them all. There was desire but also tenderness and wonder. Affection.

When they broke apart, Lanaya in dire need of air, Rylai looked at her with big eyes. Her cheeks were flushed and she was breathing way too fast. "Wow," she said. "That was … wow." She took a shaking breath and released her hold on the Assassin's shoulders, bringing a little distance between them.

Lanaya's head swam. She was not really sure what just had happened, she only knew that it was not normal. This had not been a simple kiss. It wasn't like anything she had experienced so far in her life and she wasn't certain if she wanted more or if she wanted to get space between them as fast as possible so it wouldn't happen again.

They stared at each other, Rylai seemingly just as confused as Lanaya, until someone knocked on the (still open) door. Glad that something else wanted her attention, she shifted and took the blankets the monk was carrying. A second monk brought a bowl and two towels and a third one a flagon with water. That was all one got when residing in the Hidden Temple. The Templar Assassin threw the blankets on the bed and with a short "I go to the library" in the direction of the Maiden, she left the room as if she was on the run. It was too much and she had to get out for a few minutes, clear her head.

In the huge hall where all the books of the Hidden Temple were kept, she leaned against the wall, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was agitated, confused by how the kiss had felt, how it had made the connection between them stronger still. Confused by how right it had felt to hold Rylai. As if she had been waiting her whole life for this woman and as if she only now felt complete.

She didn't want to be connected to another being so strongly. It made her vulnerable. She was an assassin, assassins were always alone. They didn't need anyone. But it seemed it was too late for that because from the way she had panicked simply at the thought that Rylai might leave her, she already needed her and it was way too late to change it now.

Which made it even more important that she learned how to use the Psionic Energy and her abilities to protect the Maiden. If anyone who wanted to harm her found out how deeply she cared for the ice woman, they would try to get to her first, because she was the easier target. So she needed all the protection the Templar Assassin could give her, if possible even more.

With that thought in mind Lanaya began to read. First she took the books of which she knew that they were about Psionic Energy. She went through one book after the other, searching for clues that would help her find a way to protect Rylai. She lost track of time, as was normal when she was studying. But when she felt the presence of the Crystal Maiden entering the library, she looked up. The woman was carrying a plate with something to eat. She smiled but it looked as if she was unsure of what to do or how to acquit herself. And now wonder. Lanaya had fled after their kiss and hadn't returned for several hours.

She knew that her behaviour had hurt the Maiden, which had never been her intent. Okay, she had reacted harshly to their kiss. But afterwards, when she had taken the first book into her hands, she had simply forgotten everything around her though she should have headed back and apologized for leaving like that. So she pulled her mask down now and stood up to take the plate from Rylai. "Come, keep me some company, will you?"

The Crystal Maiden nodded. She was without her magic staff, had probably left it in their room. When they were both sitting again, Lanaya turned to her. "I'm sorry for leaving you and not coming back. I needed a few minutes alone and then I got lost in my studies." She pointed at the plate. "You brought me something to eat?" Rylai nodded and the Assassin smiled. She often forgot to eat and only realized it when she was already a few days without food and her body refused to go on like that. "Thank you."

After a few minutes of silence, the Maiden asked: "Why did you come back here? I mean not the library but the Hidden Temple. What are you searching for?"

"I'm looking for a way to be better able to protect you. I want to use the Psionic Energy and my abilities to give you the shield I can create or to make you invisible. But I need to find information on how to do it."

"You want to use your powers to protect me?" She seemed surprised by that statement.

Lanaya looked up from her plate. "Of course." And because it was the right thing to say: "You matter. I want you to be safe regardless of where you are. I want for you to be able to go home again, to do what you want. To be free again."

Rylai just stared at her, her eyes wide. Then she stood up and hugged Lanaya. It was a little awkward with the Assassin still sitting, a plate on her lap. But that didn't really matter. "Thank you." Then she walked out of the library and Lanaya, feeling through the bond that she was okay, resumed reading.

When she was disturbed the next time, it was Rylai again. "I just wanted to remind you that the scary Tauren wanted to see you."

The Templar Assassin looked at the clock in one corner. The Maiden was right. It was already late and the master of the temple was probably waiting. Or, since he knew Lanaya, probably not. Nonetheless it was rude to be too late and she immediately set out for his room. When she passed Rylai she stopped. "You okay? Do you have everything you need? If something isn't to your liking, you can tell me. And if you want to leave the temple you can tell me as well." Live in the Hidden Temple was very simple, surely not what the Maiden was used to. And if one didn't like to read and study, there was little else to occupy oneself with. If the woman wanted to leave because she didn't like it here, Lanaya would find another way to get the information she was searching for.

But the ice woman shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm fine. I will probably be asleep when you come back, so I wish you a good night."

Lanaya nodded and was already turning around when she reconsidered. She leaned down, pressing a soft kiss on Rylai's mouth. And was gone before the Maiden could react. It had been on impulse but she was smiling as she walked down the hallways, still feeling the softness of Rylai's lips against her own. And through the bond she felt something like an answering smile from the Maiden.

The Templar Assassin knocked on the door of the room from the master of the Hidden Temple and entered. The Tauren looked at her, astonishment clearly evident on his features. "Hey little one, I didn't expect you so early."

And Lanaya smiled. If Rylai hadn't fetched her she would have been too late, as always. She bowed in front of the beast sitting at the table. "Templar Assassin, at your service."

"Oh, is that so?" His smile showed his sharp teeth. "Come, take a seat. Dinner will be here soon." And, not someone to skirt around the topic he was interested in: "Tell me, what have you been doing in all those years you have been gone? I'm very curious of what you have learned, whom you have met and what you have accomplished."

And so the Assassin talked. She talked much. She answered every question. She kept nothing of what she had learned a secret because she didn't have secrets from the master. When she had told him everything about her quest to learn as much as possible about the Psionic Energy she could wield, he leaned back in his chair, his whole being extremely focused on the Assassin. "I see you have been very successful in your studies. You have reached every goal you have set for yourself. But how does the Queen of Ice fit into all this? And how comes you are back here, and with a mate at that?"

"A mate? Rylai is not my mate." But then she didn't know what they were, what the Crystal Maiden was to her. She thought about it for a moment. Were they mates? The thought didn't disturb her as much as she had thought it would, as it would have a few days ago. Maybe she should talk with Rylai about it. Because, to be true, she would like to call her that. Would like to say 'Rylai is my mate'.

The Tauren looked at her with knowing eyes and raised brows and Lanaya shrugged. "The topic hasn't come up until now. We met in a town war. I assume you have heard about those? And when I heard that she was in danger I decided to take her with me. Seemed to be a good enough idea. And now I try to find a method to protect her better, to use Psionic Energy and my abilities for that."

"Ah, I see. I know someone who might be able to help you with that. I will track him down and send him to you. Please be nice, he is a little shy. Now go to your mate, it's already late. I expect a visit from time to time from you."

The Templar Assassin stood up. "As always."

On the way to her room, her mind was circling around only one topic: Rylai.

But just as the ice woman had said earlier, she was already asleep. The soft glow of the lamp on the table bathed her in a warm light, one hand tugged under her cheek, her hair spilled over her body, shining golden. She was wearing Lanaya's clothes again. The Assassin closed the door carefully and kneeled beside the bed. For long moments she simply stared at the beautiful woman in front of her.

Suddenly the Maiden shifted a little, then she smiled sleepily. "Hey Lanaya. You back?" She opened her eyes and slid to the wall behind her back. "Come, here is enough space for both of us." She yawned and put a hand over her mouth. "Come." She closed her eyes again and went back to sleep.

Lanaya was unsure if she should take her offer. But since she had forgotten to ask for a second set of bedclothes the only other option was to sleep on the floor without a sheet and without a blanket. Which was way too uncomfortable for her liking.

Before she could second-guess her decision, she took her shoulder armour off, as well as her boots and her mask and slipped under the blanket that was covering Rylai. It was cosy and warm and when the Crystal Maiden snuggled closer, Lanaya sighed contently. She turned towards the woman and looped one arm around her waist. Feeling her warm breath on the skin of her neck, her own nose buried in her golden locks. Surrounded by her warmth and scent, she fell asleep.

She woke a few times in the night because Rylai moved in her sleep but she adjusted her position and closed her eyes again. It would probably take time to get used to sleeping with someone but the Assassin found it nice.


	11. Chapter 11

The Templar Assassin felt extremely relaxed the next morning. Smiling at the picture of the still sleeping Maiden, her hair mussed and sticking in every direction, the pattern of the blanket visible on the skin of her cheek, Lanaya stood up. She washed and redressed then went into the library without delay.

She was still smiling, though the mask was covering it now. Rylai was so cute. Thinking of her made Lanaya's stomach flip and she felt such a joy that she had joined her on her trip to the Hidden Temple. Now she only had to find a way to use her psionic powers the way she wanted to. Which meant lots of reading.

After maybe an hour she felt Rylai approaching. "Good morning."

"Hey Lanaya. How was your evening?"

The Templar Assassin pulled her mask down. She always wore it because she was an assassin and no one, not even the monks in the temple, should ever see her as something else. But with Rylai, it was a completely different matter. "It was nice. We talked a lot."

Blond eyebrows were raised. "You talked a lot?"

Lanaya smiled. "Sometimes."

The Crystal Maiden sat down on the other chair. "How is your research going?"

"Not very good. I found nothing that even indicated that someone ever tried to use psionic energy on allies." She closed the book. It wasn't uncommon that it took time when someone was looking for specific information. But she was itching to leave the temple again. Maybe this feeling was evoked through their connection and the fact that Rylai wasn't feeling very content here.

They were silent for a few minutes. Then Rylai said: "I liked sleeping with you." She looked at the Assassin, but looked away again quickly. She blushed slightly. "I was disappointed that you were gone when I woke up."

"You would have wanted me to stay until you were awake?"

The blush intensified, her usually pale skin very red now. "You could have woken me."

Lanaya was confused, not necessarily from what Rylai was saying but from why she blushed and what she wanted to imply that the Assassin didn't catch. Then she caught the whiff of desire and sexual thoughts through the connection. She realized that the Maiden had hoped they would get intimate. And the Tauren's assumption, that they were mates, came back to mind. It seemed this was an appropriate moment to talk with her about that topic.

"Rylai." She touched her cheek, making her look up. "Are we mates? Are we in a relationship?"

"I…" she bit her bottom lip. "I'm not really sure."

Well, that didn't help her any. The only thing she knew now was that they were both not sure. But maybe… "Do you want to be? In a relationship with me?"

A flutter in their connection. "Is that a proposal? Or just a question to get information about my preference?"

And, though it was one of the dumbest ideas for an assassin to have a girlfriend, she said: "A proposal."

She was hit by a wave of pure joy through their connection and then Rylai jumped up and hugged her, her smile bright and her eyes sparkling. Lanaya was taken by surprise by the intensity of the Maiden's emotions. And when the woman took her face in both hands and kissed her it took her a moment to process what was happening. Even before her mind had figured it out, her body had already reacted, her arms looping around Rylai's gorgeous body, pulling her closer until she was sitting on her lap, and her mouth moved against her soft lips.

The Crystal Maiden sighed and softened in her arms.

A sound at the door made the Templar Assassin break the kiss and look up. A man was standing there, clearly shocked by what he had walked into. "I … I'm sorry. I wasn't… I didn't want to disturb you."

The ice woman scooted from her lap as soon as she realized there was someone. "I'll see you later." Then she was gone, slipping past the monk, who was still standing in the doorway.

The Templar Assassin pulled her mask back on and kept looking at the man. "I… the master send me. I can come back later…"

He was small and thin, his robes too big, which made him look extremely fragile. He had pointed ears but he was no elf. Maybe a goblin, though his skin and facial features hinted at a human.

Since Lanaya wasn't here to terrify the monks, she remained seating and tried to look as unthreatening as possible. "´Come in, I have been expecting you. I heard you might be able to help me with my research?"

The man seemed still unsure but he entered the library. "I don't know. Maybe."

"What have you been studying?"

"My main field of study is the use of powers against others. Why do some spells have to be cast directly on a target, why do some only work on enemies and some only on allies? Where lies the source of that inside of the caster? Can someone learn to change those fundamental rules somehow? It is extremely complex and there isn't much written down about it. A few of the monks here help me by providing themselves as study subjects." He had become more confident while he was speaking, gesturing with his hands and his ears twitching.

Lanaya leaned forward, listening intently, interested by what the man was saying. It was exactly what she wanted to achieve, changing the fundamental rule that she could only use Refraction on herself and not on allies. "What have you found out?"

"Ahem, not very much, to be true. The system is the same in every creature I have observed so far and I am completely convinced that it can be altered. What I haven't found out is the way how to do it."

"Okay. I suppose the master told you what I want to do. I'll give myself into your hands if you promise me that you won't stop to search for a way to get me to use my abilities on others instead of only on myself." She stood up and held her hand out. At first sight she would have never done something like that but the way the man spoke about his studies told her everything she needed to know. He was hooked by the problem that had presented itself. She had a higher chance to solve it with his help and she would do almost everything to help Rylai. Teaming up with some kind of goblin-human creature wasn't a problem.

The man was confused but she ignored it and just held her hand out for him to grasp. He blinked at the hand a few times before he carefully took it. "Well, hi. I… My name is Toby. I, ahem, promise to help you."

"Templar Assassin, at you service." She released his hand and he took a half step backwards. While he had been talking he had kind of forgotten that she was there but now his uneasiness and just the hint of fear were back.

Over the next days the fear vanished though the uneasiness remained. They worked well together and Lanaya was pleased about it. She felt as if they were making progress. She studied and worked all day, only eating when Rylai brought them something and crashing for a few hours each night to get just enough sleep so her body and mind would function properly.

One week passed and then another. And Lanaya became restless. Something wasn't right but she couldn't put her finger on it. It was more a general feeling of something bothering her. It got stronger throughout the day and the Assassin found it hard to concentrate.

When Rylai brought their meal she was relieved to be able to make a pause. The Crystal Maiden didn't stay, she simply put the plates down on a table and left again, only giving Lanaya a small smile. The Templar Assassin stared after her. It was strange for the ice woman to be so reserved. It wasn't her.

This was the first time Lanaya realized it. She had been so occupied with her studies that they had rarely seen each other and she had tried to concentrate on solving the problem rather than allowing herself to think too often of Rylai. Since they had talked about being in a relationship they hadn't spent any time together. She had wanted desperately to be able to protect the Crystal Maiden better that she had neglected everything else, including Rylai.

The restlessness she felt, it wasn't her own. It was Rylai's. And it was so strong that it transferred onto Lanaya. She took a moment to concentrate on their connection and was shocked. There was loneliness and sadness in addition to the restlessness. Unacceptable.

"Toby, I have to go. I might be gone a few days but I will return to get our project going."

She strode out of the library and went straight to the master of the Hidden Temple. "Templar Assassin, at you service."

"Hallo little one. What can I do for you?"

"Master, I want to take Rylai away from here for a few days. Do you know a place that is safe and a change to the temple?"

The Tauren smiled. "So you finally realized that she isn't exactly happy here? Was about time. I would have given you exactly two more days before I would have ordered you to go. And yes, I know the perfect place to take her." He held a note out to her. "Take it to our flight master. He has a griffon that will carry you. Have fun!"

Lanaya would have liked to ask where the griffon would take them but the master had his attention already turned towards the papers on his desk, which meant she was dismissed. With a bow that he probably didn't see any more, she left. She didn't read the note, either. It was addressed to the flight master and she trusted the master. He had been prepared for her question and had thought about it. He had chosen a place that would suit them, or at least suit the Maiden, since she was the one who was sad.

Now she tracked her, which wasn't hard. She was in their room. The feelings coming through their connection were so full of sadness that Lanaya wondered how it had taken her so long to notice them.

Rylai lay on the bed, a book in her hand. She wasn't reading, just staring at the wall in front of her with empty eyes. She reacted only when the Assassin touched her shoulder. "Rylai?"

"Hey Lanaya." She smiled but it looked forced and didn't reach her eyes. It was like a knife into Lanaya's heart to see her like that. They needed to talk about Rylai not telling her that she felt lonely, badly, but the Assassin wanted to get her out of the temple first. She took the book from her and grabbed one of her hands. "Come."

The flight master was in one of the towers of the Hidden Temple so the griffons could take wing more easily. The Crystal Maiden was silent until the flight master, whom Lanaya had handed the note she had been carrying, pointed them to one of the griffons. "What are you planning?"

They would both fly with one griffon. It was a big animal, which could carry them with easy. It was probably one of those that were there for creatures like the tauren. Those beasts weigh alone more than the two women together.

The Templar Assassin pushed the Maiden gently on the back of the griffon and sat in front of her. "We go for a little trip." Since she didn't know where they were going she couldn't tell the Maiden more. She took Rylai's hands and placed them on her stomach. "Hold on to me." Gripping the mane of the creature she nodded her 'ready to go' to the flight master. And off they went.

Flying on the back of a griffon was nice. They were fast but their movements, the flap of their wings and their shifts in direction, were slow and deliberate. Rylai snuggled closer, her body pressed flush against the Assassin's back. Lanaya could feel her taking a few deep breaths and she felt her relax. Even if the place they were heading for wasn't what they liked they could simply fly a little more.

It was along flight. Rylai relaxed more and more and the sadness and restlessness decreased gradually. "I'm sorry." She said after some time.

Lanaya turned her head and tried to look in her face, but she would have to turn around completely and she didn't want to risk falling down. "Whatever for?"

"I really tried not to let you know how unhappy I was because you were so focused on your studies. It seems you noticed anyway. And now you had to terminate your work to protect me because I can't go somewhere alone."

"Rylai, what are you thinking? I don't care about my studies half as much as I care about you! When I'm neglecting you because I get too engrossed in some books, I want you to tell me! Just because I don't realize when you want to spent time with me doesn't mean I don't want to." She squeezed her hands that were holding onto her. "When you are lonely just grab me and take me somewhere you want to go. I'll always have time for you. Always. I took you with me to the Hidden Temple to make you happy again not to make you even sadder than before." When she got no answer she squeezed her hand again. "Rylai? Promise me?"

The ice woman rubbed her cheek against Lanaya's back. "You sure? You look always so occupied and I don't want to bother you."

"You don't bother me. Ever."

Tightening the embrace, Rylai said: "Okay. I promise I'll come to you when I feel lonely. But I want you to tell me when it's too much and when you want to work instead of fooling around with me."

"Deal." With that she could do. It was all so new for her since Lanaya had never been in any kind of relationship. The only ones who had been close to her were her masters, the one of the Hidden Temple and the one of Aiur, who was dead. It would take time for her to get used to it and she only hoped she wouldn't make too many mistakes. But she was positive that it would all work out eventually.


	12. Chapter 12

The Assassin and the Maiden were flying over an ocean, the sun high above them making the water sparkle. It was clear enough to see some fish under the surface. The land that came into view eventually looked dark. It was an island with mountains on one side but flat land on the other. The trees and the grass seemed to be dark purple and with the grey mountains the island didn't look very inviting.

"Lanaya, look! There are colourful tents everywhere!" Her voice sounded excited and she was leaning to the side to be able to see more. "It looks like a faire!" She laughed. "So cool!" She was giddy and as soon as the griffon had ground under his feet, she jumped off its back. They were standing next to a tent with green and purple stripes, a booth with someone selling sweets right beside it. Rylai jumped up and down and looked at Lanaya. "Oh, you knew that the Darkmoon Faire was open today. Come, I want to see everything! Hurry!" She took her hand and dragged her towards the street in front of the tent.

A fair was not something Lanaya would ever have chosen to go but it was perfect. Rylai talked and laughed, ate lots of sweets and drank wine until she was tipsy. She clung to the Assassin, never letting go for even a second. And Lanaya smiled, like often glad that her mask was covering her mouth. The Maiden was so sweet and it was fun simply to watch her. She didn't play any of the games but she watched others play them.

The Templar Assassin would have to thank the master of the Hidden Temple later. She wouldn't have thought of this location, but it was a neutral zone, a place where no one could attack another no matter how hard they tried. It was some kind of magic, which had been created to make this a place where everyone, no matter what creature and how much enemies they had, could relax and have fun for a few days each month.

Aside from the fact that it was a neutral zone, the Anti-Mage would surely never go to a fair.

They were just buying something to eat when they saw a crowd forming in the middle of the road. There was cheering and laughter to be heard. Rylai took her free hand and pulled her towards the crowd. They had to push a little to get far enough to the front to be able to see what was going on but between Lanaya looking like the assassin she was and Rylai being so very cute that no one could resist her charming smile, they made it to the first row.

At first the Assassin didn't understand what had drawn such a crowd. There was some kind of race with devices that could be steered with small panels that were held in hand by two creatures. One was a Tauren and the other a Dwarf. The Tauren seemed relatively relaxed while he drove his device through the track while the dwarf was frowning in concentration. All his concentration did him no good because the Tauren won easily. The Tauren clapped him on the back hard enough to make him stagger a few steps forward but the Dwarf only laughed. "Wait till the Invoker gets here, he'll slaughter you."

"Well, no wonder he does. How am I supposed to get any better when you are all no challenge for me?" But he was grinning, showing two rows of teeth that were apparently sharpened to make them deadly weapons.

"Wow," Rylai whispered beside Lanaya, "and I thought the Tauren in the temple was scary. In contrast to this one your master looks like a harmless cuddly toy."

The Templar Assassin smiled.

The crowd seemed to be waiting for something, anticipation almost tangible in the air around them. The Tauren was still at the starting point of the race, the Dwarf had stepped between two others from his race, making room for whomever would compete next. But no one stepped forward for several minutes.

"What are we waiting for?" Rylai, definitely not shy, asked the human woman on her side.

The woman, a heavily armoured brunette, was surprised. "You don't know? For almost a year now the Invoker competes in this race and he has never been beaten. And not because of a lack of challengers." She smiled at the Crystal Maiden. "Since you seem to be new here maybe you want to give it a try?"

She laughed in response and shook her head. "No, thank you. But really, the Invoker? I would never have thought that he was the kind of person to go to a fair."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. He sticks out. But he and his boyfriend come back every month, and I swear I have seen him smile one time."

"He is in a relationship? Are you sure we are talking about the Invoker?"

A second woman joined the conversation. Then a third. Lanaya smiled. That was typical. There was gossip and suddenly all women were chatting as if they were best friends. She wasn't the one to gossip but she had seen this phenomena enough times. Not that men were any better but to be able to gossip properly the gender somehow had to be separate.

She only watched Rylai. Her eyes were sparkling and she was laughing and smiling a lot. She looked so small between the others, who were all warriors and all bigger than her, but she radiated so much joy and vitality, she almost glowed amidst the others. She was special and unique and the Assassin was hit by a wave of pure affection for the ice woman, it took her breath. She drew nearer to her until the Assassin's body was pressed flush against Rylai's back. She put one hand on her hip and nudged her shirt upwards until she touched naked skin with her fingertips.

It was as much a need to touch as it was a need to show everyone around them that this wonderful woman was taken. Rylai leaned against her and smiled at her over her shoulder before she continued her conversation. They were still talking about the Invoker, the most powerful of mages in the world. The Templar Assassin had heard about him but had never met him.

"I am so jealous. He is so beautiful, and now he is taken." The elven hunter, who had said that, pouted.

"Yeah." Rylai sighed. "If I liked men I would have definitely made a pass on him."

"You know him?" Lanaya asked quietly, her mouth so near to her ear only the Maiden could hear her. She nodded and turned a little in her arms. "We have made a couple town wars together. And against each other. After one of them we had a few drinks together. He is extremely arrogant but he is the most powerful of mages, so it is kind of justified. And he is the most beautiful male I have ever met. He is very reclusive so it is strange for him to have a boyfriend. And even stranger to come to the Darkmoon Faire. Especially every month. But since there is only one Invoker and no one would ever confuse him with someone else, we'll see him and his boyfriend soon."

Someone in the crowd shouted. "Hey Invoker! Shadowhoof is already waiting to get pwned by you!"

The masses parted to make room for the mage. Lanaya blinked. He was beautiful. And imposing. She stared at the Invoker, not realizing who was following half a step behind him until Rylai gripped her hand, hard. "Lanaya." She whispered. When she saw him her whole body tensed. There, in the middle of the Darkmoon Faire, on the side of the most powerful of all mages, was the Anti-Mage. And to top it all, he was smiling. He said something to the Invoker and, one wonder after the other, when the mage turned to him, his lips twitched as if he was a second away from smiling, too.

Lanaya and Rylai both stared at the couple in front of them. For a second the Assassin thought she was hallucinating, but no matter how often she blinked, there were still the Invoker and the Anti-Mage, side by side, smiling at each other! There was the tiny possibility that this wasn't the boyfriend, that due to some strange reason they had met here on the fair and since they couldn't kill each other they were talking.

Then the Invoker took his device and his control panel out of his pocket. He placed the device on the ground and nodded at the Tauren. His features were expressionless again, though the Tauren was grinning, showing his sharp teeth to the man. It didn't faze him and since it wasn't the first time he looked at the huge creature, he was probably used to it by now. Not that Lanaya thought he would have showed any emotion the first time.

Just before the race started, the mage turned to the Anti-Mage. He leaned forward and, leaving no doubt that he was his boyfriend, kissed him. It was just a short brushing of lips but the way they looked into each other's eyes for a second afterwards spoke of affection. Mutual affection.

The Templar Assassin was shocked and that was something that didn't happen often. From the way Rylai was completely motionless and silent, she was shocked, too.

The race started but they just kept staring at the two males who were the absolute antithesis to each other but were obviously in a relationship. They were staring so obviously that the Anti-Mage realized it. He frowned but then he seemed to recognize Lanaya and raised one hand as a greeting. The Assassin responded in the same way while the Crystal Maiden pressed closer.

Then she saw that the Anti-Mage had his weapons sheathed. She had never seen him without his blades in his hands. Not for one second.

Whatever had happened between those two males it had changed them both. And from what she was seeing, to the better. But that was probably normal in a relationship. Lanaya was aware that she had changed as well since she had met Rylai and it was definitely for the better, too.

After the first race, which the Invoker had won, the second one started. There were many who wanted to challenge him. In a short break the Anti-Mage stepped closer to the Invoker and when the mage leaned a little down he said something. The mage's gaze flickered in their direction and he nodded to Rylai. The ice woman was still tense but she relaxed a fraction after the Invoker had seen her.

The Anti-Mage left the side of the Invoker and made his way through the crowed towards Lanaya and Rylai. The Templar Assassin felt the Maiden's fear. "Don't worry, he can't hurt you here."

Her short laugh sounded a little pained. "Yeah, well, I know that. But I was told so many horrible stories about him that I cannot simply be not afraid."

"I'm with you. And as long as I'm standing, no one will ever hurt you." She hugged her from behind and then pushed her a little behind her to give the Maiden the feeling of being protected by her body.

The two women behind them were pushed apart roughly and the Anti-Mage squeezed through. One of the women frowned and clearly wanted to say something unfriendly but when she recognized who had pushed her she even made a little more room.

"Templar Assassin." The Anti-Mage bowled slightly.

"Anti-Mage." The Assassin copied the bow.

"It is a long time ago since we last met. How are you?"

"Fine."

The man nodded. "I just wanted to say 'hello' after you have been staring at us rather obviously." He looked at Rylai now. "The Crystal Maiden I assume? Nice to meet you." Changing his focus back on the Assassin, he asked: "You want to join us for a drink after the last race?"

He was polite and Lanaya didn't have the slightest sense of the Anti-Mage wanting to hurt Rylai. And though the Maiden was pressing as close as she could while peeking over Lanaya's shoulder because she was afraid, the Templar Assassin thought it was nice of the man to ask. And since it was probably a good idea, for different reasons, she agreed.

Together they watched the next races. Rylai relaxed gradually but she kept glancing at the Anti-Mage uneasily. The man didn't go back to the Invoker but stood with them.

It took some time but eventually Rylai's curiosity was stronger than her fear. Lanaya smiled because she would never have asked, but she had felt through the bond how the ice woman wanted to know the story of the Invoker and the Anti-Mage enough that it pushed her fear aside. It was extremely fascinating to witness her feelings like that.

"Ahm, Anti-Mage, how comes you are here with the Invoker?"

The man turned towards Rylai. He could probably only see half of her face and nothing else since she still used Lanaya's body as shield.

"We are a couple, so we go here together. But I assume you wanted to know how we became a couple." A tiny smile flitted over his features. "To make it short, I wanted to kill him. I couldn't because I was attracted to him from the start. So I eventually put my hatred for mages aside and stayed with him."

"You, ahem, you mean you don't hate mages anymore?" Rylai's voice sounded hopeful and the Anti-Mage raised his eye brows. "I try to differentiate."

That was definitely an improvement. There were enough evil mages and Lanaya was more than glad when the Anti-Mage killed a few of them. It had been his mindless pursuit of every mage that had made him a loner in every regard.

The crowed around them cheered and the Anti-Mage smiled at the Invoker. The mage was looking their way, his features expressionless. And started the next race. He really didn't look as if he was having any fun but why would he come back month after month to participate in those races, then?

"Come, those races are all the same. Kael will meet us in the bar when he has beaten them all." Lanaya followed him out of the crowed, Rylai close behind her.

The Anti-Mage took a deep breath when they weren't surrounded by other creatures anymore. The Templar Assassin felt the same, she wasn't really comfortable with so many creatures so close, too. They walked the road in the direction of the sea until the Anti-Mage turned to enter one of the tents.

They went to the bar and the Anti-Mage ordered drinks. Then they stood there, all three silent. Until the Crystal Maiden started laughing. "You two are absolutely alike. Don't you know how to talk?" She stopped and kind of hid behind Lanaya when the Anti-Mage looked at her with a frown on his face. "Sorry, didn't want to insult anyone. Um, won't happen again."

His frown morphed into a scowl. "You don't have to be afraid. I differentiated you into the pool of mages I won't kill. I think Kael would be mad if I as much as looked at you wrong. He has mentioned you once or twice."

A brilliant smile. "He has? Wow, and that from the most powerful of mages. And thank you, for not killing me. I assume this not killing thing counts for more than a few days?"

"As long as you don't try to kill me or one of my allies, I dare say as long as I live."

The relief that flooded through the Maiden was so strong, Lanaya had to blink a few times to file it under 'feelings that weren't her own', it felt so strong even though it came only dulled through their connection. But maybe it was their combined relief because she didn't have to be afraid of the Anti-Mage trying to kill Rylai under her nose.

Before she had sorted through every feeling that came with this declaration from the Anti-Mage, Rylai rushed forward and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him. The man looked extremely astonished by this and clearly didn't know how to react. Lanaya didn't either, the only thing she knew was that she didn't like that Rylai was pressing her body against the only half clothed form of someone else.

The voice of someone from the entrance of the tent made the Anti-Mage stop the hug and walk to whoever had spoken. Lanaya didn't care, she was staring at the Crystal Maiden. She had the feeling that what she was experiencing right now was jealousy, something that was completely new to her. It didn't feel very good and, rationally, she knew that it was absolutely not warranted.

Now the Maiden turned to her. "Lanaya, I am free! Finally I can go home. I haven't been there for ages. Please, can we get back to the temple and pack our things? I don't want to wait any longer." She was practically bouncing up and down now. "Oh and I want to show you everything. It is so wonderful there, all the snow and ice, and my place is the most beautiful building you'll ever see." Her excitement was contagious and the jealousy melted away even before Rylai had picked up on this irrational behaviour. She grabbed the Assassin's hand and pulled her towards the exit of the tent. She stopped shortly when they passed the Anti-Mage and the Invoker, who was the one who had spoken to the Anti-Mage. She hugged the blond elf and thanked the Anti-Mage again before she excused them and, waving, left the tent.

Lanaya smiled at the enthusiasm of the small woman, who suddenly seemed to glow with happiness.

Their griffon was waiting where they had left it. They mounted and the beast started.

The Crystal Maiden cuddled close. "You will come with me, won't you?"

"I'd like to." She didn't want to let the Maiden go, wanted to be with her, wanted to see where she lived.

"It will be wonderful." Rylai sighed. "Who would have thought that the Anti-Mage could stop hunting mages? It seems kind of unreal. And if I hadn't seen them I would have never believed it. It is strange, but they suit each other." She sighed again. "We have to let my friends know that I'm safe. I will write to them when we are home. But, I have to warn you, they will probably all show up and some of them are extremely protective of me. I don't think that they'll be able to scare you away but they will definitely try."

Lanaya took Rylai's hand. "You are right, they won't be able to scare me away. We are in a relationship and though it is the first for me I do know that we belong to each other now regardless of what anyone around us says or does."

The woman behind her laughed. "Sounds good to me." Then she was silent, just leaning against Lanaya's back. She was relaxed and definitely content and they enjoyed the rest of the flight in silence, the bond between them full of happiness and stronger than ever before.


	13. Chapter 13

Back in the temple the two women packed their few things and headed to the room of the master of the temple. They met the tauren on their way and he smiled at them. Rylai jerked as the sharp teeth of the creature were way too visible now and stepped half behind the Assassin. "It looks as if you two had fun. How was the faire?"

"It was totally cool." The Crystal Maiden was still so excited, she forgot to be afraid of the tauren. "Everything is so colourful there and all those creatures, some of them I have never seen before! And they just walk around there, and play those games."

The tauren grinned even wider, clearly amused by the Maiden. "And where are you heading now?"

This time it was Lanaya who answered him. "We are going to Rylai's home. We met the Anti-Mage and it seems he changed his persecution of mages to a persecution of evil mages. Therefore she is safe, at least from him. I would like to keep my room, though, and maybe you could tell Toby that I'll be back. I definitely want to carry on with my studies."

"That is good to know. When you get back join me please to tell me about the Anti-Mage. I'm sure more than one mage would be relieved to hear that there is one less threat. Now go and enjoy your time together."

He left them standing in the corridor. "What's wrong?" Lanaya asked, pulling her mask down. Something was bothering Rylai but it had only plopped up during her conversation with the tauren.

"You want to leave me to get back here? I thought you would stay with me."

"Of course I will stay with you." The Templar Assassin hugged the ice woman. "Sorry, I didn't want to make you sad. I will stay with you but I will also return to the temple once per day or so to work on my studies. It is important for me to find a way to protect you. The Anti-Mage might no longer be a threat to you but who says there won't come another? I want to be prepared for anything that could happen and therefore I will find a way to use my abilities on you." He looked into her blue eyes. "I promise you that I'll always come back. I have my Hearth Stone to get me to my house and from there I can travel anywhere in a few seconds."

A tiny smile. "Okay. That's okay. I think I don't need you to be with me all the time."

Lanaya smiled back and brushed her lips over Rylai's. "I'll be there whenever you need me."

They headed to the flight master. One of the griffons would take them to Rylai's home this first time. Then Lanaya would create some anchor point to make a portal so she could get there from her house without having to fly four several hours. But this time they didn't have much of a choice. The Hearth Stone the Maiden had wouldn't bring them to her home because, as some kind of safety measure, she had changed the destination for the stone. She would change it when they were back. Or maybe, Lanaya thought, she should tell Rylai how to use the portal stones in her house so she could use the Hearth Stone to get there. It would be easier for the Maiden to get to different locations because from the Assassin's house had several hundred places she could port to.

And the house was probably still safer than the home of the Crystal Maiden. She would talk about that later.

Now they mounted the griffon and took off. They flew north for a long time. Lanaya could feel how happy Rylai was to be able to go home. But the flight was long and the woman was tired and not long after they had started she fell asleep. The Assassin took her staff and then held her close so she wouldn't fall from the griffons back. She watched the land below as it grew dark. It didn't take that long to reach to first snow but it seemed Rylai wanted to be surrounded by as much snow as possible and they passed snow fields, mountains covered completely in white, frozen lakes and rivers and occasionally a village tucked into the shadow of a mountain or under the rooftop of frozen trees, so long covered in ice they didn't have any leaves left. And was beautiful and it was silent, just like the desert.

The griffon lost height and the Templar Assassin could see a small town on the side of a lake. Behind the lake were a few hills but on the side of the town the ground was flat for several miles, only some rocks and a few lonely trees disturbing the flatness of the plane. They flew a circle before landing next to the largest building of the town.

Rylai had woken and now she slipped from the griffons back. "Hey Jester" she greeted the flight master who had been waiting. He had probably seen them approaching and would care for their griffon before sending it back.

"Crystal Maiden." The man bowed. "Nice to see you again. Will you stay a little longer this time?"

"Definitely. I want to stay in town for the night and tomorrow we will hike up the hills. Anything I should know?"

"No, everything is the same as always." He smiled at her. "Everyone will be happy that you are back."

Rylai laughed. "I'm sure they do. Jester, this is the Templar Assassin. She will stay with me."

"My lady." He bowed again, although not as deeply as before.

"We'll see you tomorrow." Grabbing Lanaya's hand, the ice woman led her to an inn. "It is too dangerous to go up to my home in the dark. So there is a room which is always kept empty in case I need it for a night."

A few minutes later they were in said room. Rylai sighed and flopped down on the bed after placing her staff and her backpack near the door. "It is nice to be home again. The air smells different and everything feels different here. Like even the snow knows me already." She smiled, so very relaxed and content to be here. She wriggled out of her cape and her boots and then fell asleep again. The Templar Assassin checked the room and placed a few traps, underneath the window and behind the door, though she put them inside the room so no one would step onto them accidentally. She just had to wake before Rylai so she could disable them again. Feeling safer now she joined the ice woman in the bed.

As soon as she was under the blanket, Rylai snuggled closer, slinging one arm around her waist while pushing her nose into the crook of Lanaya's neck. With the Maiden close to her, she slept.

A knock on the door woke the Templar Assassin. She waited a few seconds with closed eyes to take everything around her in. Tried to sense if there was any threat. Then she disabled the trap at the door. It knocked again. Now Rylai moved and rubbed her eyes. "Come in." Her voice sounded still sleepy.

Just as the door opened Lanaya stepped behind it and went invisible. Two reasons for that. First, she didn't want someone unknown to see her half clothed and without her mask and second, if it was someone who wanted to harm her or the Maiden she could attack while he didn't see her.

It was a girl who held a tray in her hand. "Good morning my lady." She curtsied and the tray almost fell from her hands. Rylai reached over and steadied it. The girl blushed. "I brought breakfast for you and your companion. Do you need anything else?"

Rylai smiled, no fully awake. "Wonderful. Thank you. We don't need anything, we'll be down shortly, since we want to get on our way."

The girl curtsied again and left.

"Lanaya, you gonna have breakfast with me or keep standing there?"

Moving, and therefore shedding the Invisibility, the Assassin joined the Maiden. Afterwards they headed to a few stores in the town because Rylai hadn't been home for a long time and she had to buy food and stuff which usefulness Lanaya highly doubted. She sent a letter to her home because she said she had some personnel and though they had probably already been informed about her being in town she wanted to announce her arrival. That way they would have everything prepared when they arrived.

The Templar Assassin was more than curious about what they would prepare for them and what would include 'everything'.

It took them half of the day to get everything Rylai wanted because everyone they met talked to Rylai, asked her how she was and so on. They stopped every minute to chat, the maiden smiling and laughing all the time. She really knew all creatures who lived in this town and it seemed they all liked her.

When they finally left town it was midday. Rylai was full of energy and cheerful. She kept talking, telling Lanaya everything about the landscape around them, about the town, about the people there. She told her how she had come to live here and how she had built her home.

The first part of their journey was up the hills on the other side of the lake. It wasn't easy with all the snow but the Templar Assassin didn't care. She could feel the joy through their connection and it made her happy to know how much Rylai liked being here.

On the top of the hill they stopped and Lanaya stared ahead in amazement. On the other side of the hill was another frozen lake, this one even bigger, and in the middle of the lake, probably placed on an island, was a castle that seemed to be solely made out of ice. It sparkled in the sun, looking as if it was plucked right out of some dream. It was big, not the biggest castle the Assassin had ever seen, but it was by far the most beautiful one.

"It is wonderful, isn't it?"

Lanaya could only nod, not able to tear her eyes away from the building, yet. "You built it?"

"Not alone. Underneath is a ruin I found, which I had repaired and enlarged before I coated the walls with ice. So most of it is still made of stone and only looks as if it is ice. At the time I wasn't as powerful as I am now and I wasn't sure if it would hold if I didn't have walls of stone. It made me feel safer. Probably is because in case of an attack the walls can't melt away or burst into ice shards at the smallest hit. It's more robust."

"It is magnificent."

Rylai laughed. "Thank you."

To reach the castle (Rylai had never mentioned that her home was a castle, had she?) they had to walk over the frozen lake. It was fascinating because the ice was so clear that from time to time one could see fish swimming underneath it. The Templar Assassin was speechless. She would never have expected something like that but it suited the Crystal Maiden. Not wanting to think about how to make such a big place safe, the Assassin focused her mind on absorbing everything she saw while listening to Rylai. Normally she would never let her alertness down like that simply because she was fascinated with her surroundings. But with Rylai by her side she felt like she could do it, at least for now. It was wonderful, Rylai's positive feelings merging with the beauty of everything around them and, together with the awe Lanaya felt while walking over the frozen lake to the frozen castle, it was one of the most special experiences of her whole life.

She was flooded by so many feelings of her own together with everything that came through the connection, she felt like she would burst out of her skin. It wasn't painful, though, it just was as if she had to do something. And when she looked at Rylai she knew what it was.

She stopped and turned towards the ice woman, who had stopped as well. Then she took a step forward and, framing her face with her hands, kissed her. She put everything in this kiss that she was feeling, all the joy of being here, of not having to worry about the Anti-Mage, of simply being with her. Rylai put her arms around her neck and pressed closer and just like the first time they had kissed the connection between them began to thrum with energy and their minds kind of merged, making it unable for Lanaya to find where she ended and Rylai began. Not that she cared. It was wonderful to be this near to the only person that mattered to her and she wished she never had to stop kissing her, wished that they could stay like that forever. Two bodies connected through their minds. It felt so unbelievably right to be with Rylai, to kiss her, to hold her.

When they parted eventually, Rylai's cheeks were flushed and her lips slightly swollen. She was breathing heavy, as was Lanaya. "Wow," the ice woman breathed. "Kissing you is definitely something. I'm sure I've never felt like that from a kiss before."

The Templar Assassin hadn't either. This connection between them, it mad everything different. And though the Assassin still wasn't sure if it was a good idea to have someone so close, to like someone that much as an assassin, she didn't want to give it up anymore. She would protect the Crystal Maiden with everything she had and she would do so gladly. And since it was as much the decision of the ice woman if she wanted to stay with an assassin, she couldn't just push her away and tell her it was for her own good.

And aside from everything else, Lanaya knew that Rylai, and this relationship with her, was good for her. She smiled and kissed her again.

When she looked up the next time, it was snowing. The Crystal Maiden laughed, her eyes shining as she brushed some snowflakes out of Lanaya's hair. Then the ice woman took her hand. "Come, I want to show you my home. We can kiss as much as you want later."

Together, hand in hand, they walked on through the snow towards the ice castle.


	14. The Library

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small additional scene. Have fun :)

"This is your library?" Lanaya walked through the rows of shelves. Not that it wasn't big, the library was. And there were tons of books, too.

The room was wonderful, a high ceiling that consisted of clear ice, making the room bright even though there were no windows otherwise. The shelves that were lining the walls had balustrades with a wide flight of stairs opposite the entrance leading up to it. A second balustrade above it was reachable over two spiral stairs at the corners left and right of the staircase. The balustrade there was wide enough to make the spiral stairs not appear cramped in.

More shelves were parallel to the walls. They were higher nearer to the wall and only as high as Rylai was tall in the middle of the room. On the tops of the shelves were ice sculptures, sometimes only little ones and sometimes bigger ones, sometimes ranging over several shelves, sometimes reaching for the next sculpture but not quite touching.

And in the middle was a huge tree of ice, almost as tall as the room was high, branches hanging down to the floor and others overshadowing the shelves full of books.

Lanaya guessed the shelves themselves were made of enchanted ice, too.

The room in itself was amazing. It was the books that made her almost scrunch her nose.

At first the Templar Assassin thought she was simply in the wrong section of the library. Though she couldn't decipher the order in which the books were arranged.

A few shelves later, Lanaya got suspicious. When she had rounded the room (not yet having reached the balustrade, but still), she dreaded what her findings meant.

Rylai had sat down on a couch underneath the tree in the middle and smiled at the approaching Assassin. She had to feel what Lanaya did, at least some of it, but she appeared undisturbed by it.

"I never said it contained any books you liked. I just said I had a library."

She was right. Lanaya should've guessed as much. Why should the Crystal Maiden own any kind of books Lanaya would like? Their interests were utterly different in that regard, it should've been clear right from the beginning.

"Yes, well, I didn't think it would be like that!" Because the library was full of books, yes. But they were all: fictional stories.

And they were all romances. Sometimes not directly, sometimes not as main plot, but in the end every book contained some kind of romantic relationship. That much Lanaya had been able to find out during her tour through the shelves.

There was no single scientific book, nothing from which one could _learn_ anything.

With a sigh, the Assassin sat down next to the Maiden and let her gaze wander over the rows and rows of books. How could one have this many books and have only… trash? It was an amazing feat in itself.

Rylai laughed and kissed Lanaya on the cheek. "I'm sorry, love. I should've warned you that my library wouldn't meet your standard."

"Not my standards… This is no one's standard! How can there be so many books about nothing? Fictional stories about fictional characters who fall in love with each other. This… have you read them all?"

At Lanaya's look, full of horror and disbelief, Rylai laughed even harder. "No, by far not." She snuggled into the Assassin's side. "Maybe, you could read one to me? Tonight, before we go to sleep?"

"You… want me to read to you? Out of one of these books?" She probably sounded slightly disgusted, just by the thought, but Rylai ignored it.

"Yes, why not? I like the stories but sometimes I feel like reading is too tiring."

At first Lanaya wasn't sure if she liked the idea. She had never read aloud to anyone, and she had never read a love story, a book where she gained nothing from reading it.

But the way Rylai relaxed against her as they lay in bed later that night was extremely nice. Content and a quite joy thrummed through their bond, making Lanaya smile. It was so easy to make Rylai happy because the woman was always open with what she wanted and liked and she showed her delight without restraint.

Before she had even started reading Lanaya had already decided that she liked this. And throughout the first chapter she found it less dreadful than she had anticipated. The book wasn't scientific, but it wasn't boring or dull. It was strange to read about other creatures, in another world, but it wasn't bad. The Templar Assassin found herself fascinated by the plot and the characters and this easily it became a routine, the reading.

A remaining problem was, that Lanaya had to fly to libraries all over the world to find the books she needed. She was never finished with her studies and she wanted to learn ever more. She always tried to come back for the night, at least, but she was gone more than she would've liked. Sometimes she was allowed to take some books with her, but not always.

One day as Lanaya came home, later than she had intended, Rylai was waiting for her. The Maiden was smiling but the Assassin couldn't figure out why. Their bond revealed nothing, except that Rylai was pleased about something. "Come." She held her hand out and Lanaya took it, following her girlfriend out of the room and through the ice palace.

They walked to the library, but Rylai pulled her through the giant room, past all the shelves and books, to the right corner of the room. There was a shelf missing and instead a wide door had replaced it. The Templar Assassin was absolutely sure that the door was new.

The Crystal Maiden stopped and turned towards Lanaya. "I have a surprise for you. It's all yours, you can do within it what you want. If you want me to change something, just say it. I can rearrange everything, because it is the first room that doesn't have stone walls underneath. It is pure ice and magic, nothing else. And I give it all to you."

Curious what this was about, Lanaya opened the door and entered the room. She stopped, stared, frozen in disbelief.

There was a second library, if possible even larger than the one behind her. It was similar but not identical to the other. And it was packed from beginning to end with scientific books. Books about magic, about energy, about stars and worlds, about creatures and races, about places in this world and in others, and so on. It was paradise.

Some books Lanaya knew, some she had actually read, but she saw many she had never gotten her hands on. Rare ones, old ones, and ones that _should be myths_. Books she had heard rumours about but which had never been confirmed to exist.

"How…" The Assassin was too perplexed to form a proper sentence.

"I had enough time while you were away during the days. I thought it was a good idea and I had lots of help. I collected maybe half of my favours from creatures throughout the world. They were not all happy, but in the end no one can resist my charm. It was fun. Do you like it?"

"Oh, wow, it's… I don't know what to say. It's incredible. More than incredible." She walked through the room, taking it all in. There was no word to describe how she felt. No one had ever given her something like that, not even close to that.

Lanaya looked at Rylai. "You are perfect. I love you."

Rylai's laugh was amazing. "Thank you." She walked close and hugged the Assassin. "I'm glad you like it." She squeezed a little. "I love you, too."


	15. By the Fireplace

Lanaya sat in a big and cosy armchair near the fireplace. The room was warm from the flames, though it was freezing outside of the palace. She was reading a book, of course, while Rylai bustled through the room. She had stuff strewn everywhere and was working on something.

She had said something about presents for Christmas or such. Lanaya was completely absorbed in her reading but she felt her girlfriend on a subconscious level. She felt her being there and she felt her being happy. The Templar Assassin had grown used to the constant presence of Rylai and she had to admit that she liked it.

Though she had never minded being alone it was astonishingly nice to have someone around.

Rylai hummed while she worked. Lanaya heard it double, as audible sound with her ears and as feeling that she was able to pick up through their mental bond. The feeling projected the same happiness and contentment as the humming and the Assassin smiled unconsciously.

She looked up when the humming stopped suddenly. Nothing had ever been able to pull her out of her books the way Rylai was able to. With just a slight change of emotion or when she disappeared out of the room without saying something. Or when she stopped humming like she had now.

The Crystal Maiden was staring at her, her hair a little messy and her hands full of colourful ribbons.

"What is it?" Lanaya didn't know what had happened for Rylai to stare like that. Had she said something that the Assassin had missed? Had Lanaya forgotten something? Done something wrong?

But then the most beautiful woman in the world smiled, getting more beautiful, if that was even possible. "No. I saw you smiling and I thought about how much I love you."

Lanaya was momentarily speechless. Not only because of the words, which she thought she'd never get used to hearing, but also because of the wave of affection that hit her through their bond.

Rylai laughed, probably because of the stupid face Lanaya just made. Then she dropped the stuff in her hands and walked over. She took the book from the Assassin and laid it on a small table beside the armchair. Lanaya just watched her, still a little off balance and not sure what was happening right now.

Wearing only a tight top and very short shorts, the Maiden straddled Lanaya, knees on the armchair next to her thigs. She put her arms on the Assassin's shoulders, hands loosely laced behind her head.

Still a smile on her face, she leaned closer. Until their lips were almost touching. "I like when you smile." Her voice was almost a whisper, so soft. "Because you only do so for me. And whenever I see it, I know you are thinking of me. Or that I did something to make you smile. Then I feel so much joy about being able to achieve something like that, often without even trying to, that I think I'll explode from it. You are wonderful. I love you so much"

Before Lanaya could respond to these words, though she didn't know what she wanted to say, Rylai kissed her. A slow kiss, all the love the beautiful woman felt for her thrumming through Lanaya's body. And Lanaya gave it all back. Because she loved Rylai just as much. She wasn't able to say it like the Maiden did, was too often at a loss for words, but she was able to show it. As she did now. And she could make Rylai feel it as she sent love through their bond.

The Assassin worshipped the Maiden, at first only her mouth, before she let her lips travel down Rylai's throat. She kissed and nipped, her hands wandering over Rylai's body, shaping her backside and stroking over her side, brushing her breasts, playing with her hair. She always took her time to show Rylai how much she loved her.

Lanaya adored to make her pant and moan and writhe and she laughed breathlessly. The sound sent a wave of affection over from Rylai, which made the Assassin only more determined to shower her in love in return.

Later, as they lay in front of the fire, both naked and Lanaya tracing lazy circles on Rylai's hip, she said it: "I love you, too, you know."

She could hear Rylai smile as she snuggled a little closer. "I know. I can feel it. I've never doubted it."


End file.
